The Performing Arts Centre will feature three theatres with a combined capacity of over 3,000 seats, including a cantilevered amphitheatre overlooking Qiddiya City’s lower plateau and a 500-seat suspended theatre designed to add a distinctive feature to the skyline. Located at the edge of the Tuwaiq Mountains, the facility will offer panoramic views of the city below. Once completed, it is expected to host over 200 indoor and outdoor performances each year, ranging from theatre and music to digital art, cultural events, and international productions.
According to MEED, the tender for the project was issued in September 2023, and bids were submitted in May 2024. Qiddiya Investment Company later selected Tom Wiscombe Architecture from the United States as the design architect and Dubai-based Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf as the design consultant.
As Qiddiya City’s first major cultural venue, the Performing Arts Centre aims to nurture new generations of Saudi artists and audiences, strengthening the city’s position as a creative and entertainment hub in the region. The project aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy to expand its leisure, culture, and tourism sectors as part of broader efforts to diversify the national economy.
Qiddiya City, located southwest of Riyadh, is part of a larger development plan that includes major attractions such as the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, a motorsports circuit, Six Flags Qiddiya, the Aquarabia theme park, and an e-sports arena. Beyond entertainment, Qiddiya’s upcoming media district is planned to serve as a regional center for film, television, and digital production. The district will include advanced studios, post-production facilities, and training centers aimed at attracting international filmmakers, streaming services, and game developers.
According to GlobalData, Saudi Arabia’s leisure tourism industry has expanded rapidly, with domestic leisure trips increasing from 16.7 million in 2018 to 33.8 million in 2023, while international recreational arrivals rose by 600% over the same period. The government expects projects like Qiddiya to further stimulate growth across tourism, media, and the creative industries.
Together with other national developments such as Neom, the Red Sea Project, Amaala, and Diriyah Gate, Qiddiya represents a key component of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to promote economic diversification, sustainable urban growth, and job creation. Once completed, the Qiddiya City Performing Arts Centre is expected to become one of the Kingdom’s leading cultural landmarks—an architectural and artistic symbol of its growing creative economy and a cornerstone of its evolving entertainment landscape.
