Qiddiya: scale, sequencing, and what is open in 2026.
Insight N°020
10 May 2026
Qiddiya City is the PIF-anchored entertainment, sports and tourism giga-project located 45 kilometres west of Riyadh. Phase 1 carries an investment estimated at approximately 8 billion US dollars, with opening attractions beginning from 2026: Six Flags Qiddiya, Aquarabia water park, the Speed Park motorsport circuit, and the Resort District. Additional projects Qiddiya Coast and Qiddiya Sports City extend the footprint.
Qiddiya is the most commercially active of the Riyadh giga-projects in 2026. The procurement audit follows.
What is opening by year-end 2026
Six Flags Qiddiya, the first Six Flags in the Middle East, with confirmed 2026 opening. Aquarabia, opening alongside Six Flags. The Speed Park motorsport circuit hosting Formula 1 race testing through 2026 ahead of confirmed F1 race programming from 2027. The Resort District phase one hotels are commissioning. Each of these has been awarded to prime contractors and is now in the fit-out and operations contracting phase.
What gets awarded in 2027
The 2027 award cycle covers Phase 1.5 expansion: additional resorts, the broader Sports City programme, expanded retail and F&B anchors. The PIF + FIFA World Cup activation programme announced 14 May 2026 brings additional vendor categories through Savvy Games Group activation.
Where foreign entertainment, hospitality and sports operators still have an opening
Across the 2026 opening venues and the 2027 expansion, the open procurement categories include: themed attraction operators (the Six Flags-adjacent operators), F&B concept brands, immersive experience and content operators, fan experience and activation specialists, sports federation programming, event production, hospitality brands for the Resort District phase two.
Why international firms should map their position now
Qiddiya’s tie-in with the PIF + FIFA World Cup activation programme makes 2026 to 2027 the most active vendor selection window the destination will run before opening. international firms in entertainment, hospitality, sports activation and immersive content categories that enter Saudi Arabia in 2026 are positioned for the activation contracts. The same firms entering in 2027 are positioned for residual and post-opening contracts.
What we do
audixintel structures the Saudi entry for international entertainment, hospitality, sports and event-production firms targeting Qiddiya. From the operating entity through the partner conversations with the Qiddiya Investment Company and Savvy Games Group.
Sources
audixintel
Saudi market entry, made operational.