Saudis employed in entertainment
100,000+ direct jobs in the entertainment sector
Vibrant Society pillar2 sourcesLast verified 2026-05-18
Hero metric
Saudis in entertainment-sector jobs
100K+
2025100,000+ direct jobs in the entertainment sector
Publishers include: SPA · Arab News
The Story
Before
Entertainment as a Saudi career did not exist before 2017 — formal employment in this sector was negligible.
Initiative
GEA built licensing frameworks for cinemas, festivals, concerts, theme parks, and event production. Saudis filled new operational, creative, and managerial roles.
Outcome
Over 100,000 Saudis now work directly in the entertainment sector — across 6,778 companies operating in the space.
For citizens
A new career track entirely. Producers, performers, technicians, hospitality, security, programming — all roles previously unavailable to Saudi workers.
Timeline of Milestones
2017
GEA established
2025
100K+ Saudis employed in entertainment sector
Evidence library · 2 primary sources
Sorted by tier, newest first
An entertainment industry, built from zero
89 million visits to events and venues in 2025
89M+
Cinema, reborn from zero
From 0 cinema screens in 2017 to 700+ at 60+ locations across 16 governorates
700+
Riyadh Season — country's biggest festival
13 million visits to the multi-month festival in 2024-2025
13M
MDLBeast Soundstorm — biggest Saudi music festival
700,000+ attendees at a single multi-day festival
700K+
Initiative attribution: General Entertainment Authority (GEA); Quality of Life Program; cinema licensing. Citizen benefit category: Jobs & livelihoods.