LIONS Riyadh Is Coming: Global Creative Platform LIONS Launches New Saudi Festival

Saudi Arabia is adding another major international event to its rapidly expanding calendar, this time with the global creative industry firmly in focus.

Tahaluf, in partnership with LIONS and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Media, has announced the launch of LIONS Riyadh, a new regional festival dedicated to creativity, marketing effectiveness, culture and the future of the industry.

Set to take place from December 6-8, 2027 at King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, the three-day gathering is expected to bring together regional and international CMOs, creative leaders, agencies, brands and emerging talent, while giving Middle Eastern ideas and storytelling a bigger platform within the global creative conversation.

The arrival of LIONS in Riyadh comes as Saudi Arabia continues to invest heavily in developing its creative economy alongside its broader economic diversification ambitions.

From film, fashion and gaming to entertainment, design and brand storytelling, the Kingdom’s creative industries have grown alongside a new generation of Saudi entrepreneurs, creators and businesses looking increasingly beyond the domestic market.

His Excellency Salman bin Yousef Al-Dossary, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Media, described the launch as an opportunity to build on the region’s longstanding relationship with creativity and storytelling.

“Creativity and storytelling have deep roots in Saudi Arabia and across Middle Eastern culture,” Al-Dossary said. “Today, a new generation is building on that heritage with the confidence, capability and ambition to define how the story evolves.”

But the ambition behind LIONS Riyadh goes beyond bringing another global event brand to the Saudi capital.

According to the Ministry, the festival is expected to support the development of national creative capabilities, facilitate knowledge transfer, attract international expertise and create new opportunities for investment, partnerships and employment. Connecting Saudi creatives with international networks and markets is also intended to help accelerate the growth of local creative businesses.

For Tahaluf, LIONS Riyadh represents another step in Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a destination for major international events.

Faisal Al-Khamisi, Co-Chairman of the Board at Tahaluf and Chairman of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), pointed to the Kingdom’s growing portfolio of global sporting, entertainment, business and government events, ranging from Formula 1 and LEAP to the upcoming Expo 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cup.

“The decision by LIONS, the world’s most prestigious platform for creative marketing, to launch LIONS Riyadh is another important milestone in that journey,” Al-Khamisi said. “It reflects both the growing international significance of Saudi Arabia and the extraordinary creative potential of the wider Arab world.”

For LIONS, the move also reflects what it sees as a wider transformation taking place across the Middle East’s creative industries.

Philip Thomas, Chair of LIONS, said the region is entering a “remarkable new creative era,” pointing to growing activity across film, fashion, gaming, design, entertainment and brand storytelling.

“Across film, fashion, gaming, design, entertainment and brand storytelling, we’re seeing a surge of ambition and originality powered by a young, fast-growing population,” Thomas said.

Through LIONS Riyadh, the organization intends to provide regional professionals with greater access to global creative benchmarks, industry intelligence and learning, while connecting local talent and businesses with international experience and opportunities.

Importantly, the new festival isn’t being positioned as a replacement for Cannes Lions, which will remain the centerpiece of the global LIONS ecosystem and its international benchmark for creative excellence.

Nor does it replace Dubai Lynx, which remains the established MENA awards platform and regional creative benchmark.

Instead, LIONS Riyadh will form part of a wider series of regional LIONS platforms designed to make the organization’s expertise accessible throughout the year. Its Saudi edition will focus on bringing together the broader marketing ecosystem, developing talent and creating stronger connections between regional ideas and global networks.

And that distinction could prove important.

Saudi Arabia’s transformation has already brought some of the world’s biggest names in technology, investment, entertainment and sport to Riyadh. LIONS Riyadh now puts the global creative and marketing industry more firmly into that equation.

For the region’s founders, agencies, marketers and creators, the opportunity isn’t simply to have another international festival closer to home. It’s to ensure that as the global creative industry increasingly turns its attention towards the Middle East, more of the ideas shaping that conversation originate here too.

Further details on the LIONS Riyadh program, speakers, participating brands and creative leaders are expected to be announced in the coming months.