The Boulevard Riyadh City (BLVD RUH CITY)(), or simply The Boulevard, is a is a

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

in the Hittin neighborhood of

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, containing high-end retail and entertainment outlets. Opened in 2019, it operates primarily during the annual

Riyadh Season Riyadh Season () is a state-sponsored annual entertainment and sports festival, part of the larger Saudi Seasons initiative held since 2019 from October to March during winter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Overview First unveiled by the General Entert ...

entertainment festival.

Overview

First launched in October 2019 in the initial weeks of the 2019 Riyadh Season, it is divided into nine sub-zones that include a wide range of recreational facilities, including outdoor cinemas, cafes, restaurants, and

hookah lounge A hookah lounge (also called a shisha bar or den, especially in Britain and parts of Canada, or a hookah bar) is an establishment where patrons share shisha (flavoured tobacco) from a communal hookah or from one placed at each table or a bar. ...

s, besides hosting multiple sports, music and theatrical events. The Boulevard is popular for its several landmark attractions like Square sub-zone, a replica of New York's Times Square, Takenda centre and the London's

Coventry Street Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretary ...

inspired Trocadero area. It was designed by Saudi engineer Abdul Mohsen Al-Theyab, Nmr Real Estate and Ahmed Zaidan Consulting Architects (EdgeArch). It is overseen by the country's

General Entertainment Authority The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) ( ar, الهيئة العامة للترفيه, Al-Hayʾah al-ʿĀmmah li-t-Tarfīh), formerly the General Authority for Entertainment (GAE), is a government department in Saudi Arabia that regulates th ...

History

Riyadh Season 2019 timeline

The Boulevard was launched as a entertainment zone on October 17, 2019, during the first week of the 2019 edition of

. An inaugural parade was held which saw more than 1,500 performers and 25 floats taking part in it. ''

Saudi Gazette Saudi Gazette is an English-language daily newspaper launched in 1976 and published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is only available online, as the print version was discontinued in 2019. It is the second English-language daily newspaper in Saudi Ar ...

'' reported that within 24 hours of its inauguration, the complex saw more than 1.2 million residents of

and from nearby

Gulf countries The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...

flocking to the Boulevard. In late October 2019, the Boulevard hosted The Color Run 'The Happiest 5k on the Planet', where runners sprinted for 5 kilometers and were splashed with different colored powders during each kilometer. The Boulevard hosted the Saudi Anime Expo between 14 and 16 November 2019 which saw several performances of prominent singers and bands in various concerts, including that of late

Sami Clark Sami Clark ( ar, سامي كلارك; 19 May 1948 – 20 February 2022) was a Lebanese singer, who had his career peak in the 1980s. Life and career Clark began his music career in the late 1960s, a few years after joining the Faculty of Law ...

and the Japanese music group

Linked Horizon Sound Horizon is a Japanese symphonic rock musical group with composer () as the leader and only permanent member. They describe themselves as a "fantasy band" and have released works that closely resemble classical suites. Their songs often ...

. In mid-November 2019,

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...

issued directives for the extension of

till the end of January 2020 in selected zones that were attracting more visitors, meanwhile the Boulevard being the only exceptional zone to be extended till the end of March 2020 due to its soaring popularity. In late November 2019, the Boulevard hosted an event in cooperation with the Saudi National Retirees Association in which elderly visitors were encouraged to participate in a walkathon. In December 2019, the

chairman

Turki al-Sheikh Turki bin Abdul Mohsen bin Abdul Latif Al Al-Sheikh ( ar, تركي بن عبد المحسن بن عبد اللطيف آل الشيخ; born August 4, 1981), is a Saudi adviser at the Royal Court under the rank of Minister and the current Chairman ...

announced through is official

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

handle that the Filipino boy band

TNT Boys The TNT Boys (also known as The Big Shot Trio or Tawag ng Tanghalan Boys) are a Filipino boy band made up of three of the pre-to-early teen finalists of the 2017 television competition ''Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids''. The members are Keifer Sanchez, ...

along with

Ogie Alcasid Herminio Jose Lualhati "Ogie" Alcasid Jr. (; born August 27, 1967) is a Filipino singer-songwriter, television presenter, comedian, parodist, and actor. He is currently the President of OPM (Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-Aawit). Early care ...

and

Lara Maigue Lara Marie Moscardon Maigue (born June 7, 1991) is a Filipina singer and songwriter who won the 2017 Aliw Awards for Best Classical Performer and the 2018 Aliw Awards for Best Female Crossover Performer. Early life Lara was born to Filipino c ...

will be performing at the Mohammed Abdo Theater in an event dubbed 'Filipino Night'. The Boulevard hosted the professional wrestling event of 2020

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

Super ShowDown WWE Super ShowDown (originally stylized as Super Show-Down) was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, an American-based promotion. It was broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE's livestreaming service, the ...

at the Mohammed Abdo Arena, which would be the third and last event in the

chronology. On 7 March 2020, the

announced the indefinite closure of the Boulevard along with other zones of

over concerns of the spread of novel coronavirus disease. Three days later, the

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

declared

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

global pandemic Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * Global (Paul van Dyk album), ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * Global (Bunji Garlin album), ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * Global (Humanoid album), ''Gl ...

and

King Salman Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود, , ; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King ...

ordered a three-week nationwide curfew on 23 March, bringing an end to the last zone of

Criticism

Just five days after the inauguration of The Boulevard, ''

Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats. At least as of ...

'' reported that residents of the Hittin neighborhood expressed their grievances on social media regarding the overcrowding of the locality by visitors and tourists, disrupting the traffic and tranquility of their daily life. Some of the social media users asked the country's traffic department as well as the

to come up with a solution.

WWE Crown Jewel

The Boulevard's Mohammed Abdo Arena hosted the professional wrestling event of 2021

WWE Crown Jewel WWE Crown Jewel is a professional wrestling List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion, promotion. It is broadcast live television, live and available only through pay ...

on October 21, which saw 22,000 attendees.

Riyadh Season 2021 timeline

The Boulevard was reopened as a 900,000 square meter entertainment zone on November 01, 2021 as part of the second edition of

festival in the post-relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown in the country. In November 2021, Sala Entertainment announced the opening of the largest indoor entertainment city 'Sala Hub'. In the second week of November 2021, the Takenda Center was inaugurated which featured 500

arcade games An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

and

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

besides offering a distinctive

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

experience. In mid-November 2021, The Boulevard unveiled 'The Crystal Maze' experience, based on the British game show

The Crystal Maze ''The Crystal Maze'' is a British game show devised by Jacques Antoine, based upon his format for the French game show '' Fort Boyard'', and produced for Channel 4. The programme focuses on teams of contestants, a mixed group of men and women, ...

. During the second week of December 2021, Indian

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

actor

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

travelled to

as part of his 'Da-Bangg Tour' and performed at the International Arena Boulevard Plus alongside

Shilpa Shetty Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born Ashwini Shetty; Née Shetty; 8 June 1975) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi-language films. Shetty made her screen debut in the thriller ''Baazigar'' (1993) which garnered her nominations for two Filmfare ...

Prabhu Deva Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada language films. In a career spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed a ...

Aayush Sharma Aayush Sharma (born 26 October 1990) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He made his film debut with brother-in-law Salman Khan's production ''Loveyatri'' (2018). His film '' Antim: The Final Truth'' (2021) was critically and commercia ...

Guru Randhawa Gursharanjot Singh Randhawa (born 30 August 1991) is an Indian singer, songwriter and music composer associated with Punjabi, Bhangra, Indi-pop and Bollywood music. He is known for songs like "Lahore", " Ishare Tere", " Slowly Slowly", and " ...

and

Saiee Manjrekar Saiee Manjrekar (born 23 December 1997) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi, Marathi language, Marathi and Telugu language, Telugu-language films. Daughter of actors Mahesh Manjrekar and Medha Manjrekar, she made her acting debut with ''Dab ...

. Before the event, Khan's handprints were added to the 'Wall of Fame'. In late December 2021, the Boulevard inaugurated the biggest bowling alley in

, with an area over 2,500 square meter. In early January 2022, the

revised The Boulevard's entry timings by 3 hours by letting the visitors enter the precincts from 2 pm ( UTC+03:00) instead of 5 pm.

Ramadan and Eid ul-Fitr 2022

The Boulevard announced free entry throughout the month of

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

in April 2022. The Boulevard hosted a

Gargee'an Gargee'an ( ar, قرقيعان), sometimes spelled as Gerga'oon (Arabic: قرقاعون), is a semiannual celebration, observed primarily in Eastern Arabia. It takes place on the 15th night of the Islamic month of Sha'ban and on the 15th night of ...

show in the Studio area between 14 and 16 April 2022, an Eastern Arabian semiannual celebration, observed primarily during mid-Ramadan in Gulf countries like

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

and

. In late April 2022, columnist Saeed Saeed reported in the

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

-based ''The National'' that "Boulevard Riyadh has become a family hub during Ramadan". By the end of April 2022, the Boulevard hosted the Eid ul-Fitr parade in its precincts to observe the festival of

Eid ul-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

Pre-2022 Riyadh Season

In July 2022, the Boulevard inaugurated the Japamura zone, a village that exhibits

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ance ...

in preparation for the Gamers8 fest as well as the upcoming 2022 edition of

. The initiative was supported by

Saudi Airlines Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...

Subzones

The Boulevard has nine sub-zones. These include: * The musical fountain or dancing fountain * The Square, a replica of New York's Times Square * The Garden * Trocadero Area, inspired by London's

* Music Area * Avalanche Area * Theaters Area * Studio Area * Sport Area

Popular restaurants and cafes

References

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