Three months have passed since Six Flags Qiddiya City opened its gates on the last day of 2025, marking the first operational milestone for what is set to become one of the world’s largest entertainment destinations. The opening of the theme park — a landmark moment for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 entertainment agenda — was not the endpoint of the Qiddiya project but its opening statement, with a broad pipeline of additional attractions and venues continuing to take shape across the 360-square-kilometre site southwest of Riyadh.
The scale of the ambition at Qiddiya has few precedents anywhere in the world. When the full city reaches operational capacity, projections suggest it could attract up to 17 million visitors annually and support the creation of approximately 325,000 jobs. The project is owned and developed by the Public Investment Fund through Qiddiya Investment Company, and sits alongside Neom, Red Sea Global, and Diriyah as a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s transformation of its economy and its identity as a global destination.
Speed Park and the Formula 1 Ambition
Among the most closely watched elements of the Qiddiya development is Speed Park, a purpose-built motorsport facility designed to host Formula 1 Grand Prix races. The circuit has been created through a collaboration between former F1 driver and safety expert Alex Wurz and legendary circuit architect Hermann Tilke — the designer behind many of the world’s current F1 venues — and is designed with 21 turns across a layout that aims to be both the longest and fastest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar when it opens.
Construction on Speed Park is actively progressing, with a planned debut on the F1 schedule targeted for 2027. The track will also host MotoGP events, making it one of the rare venues built with accommodation for both of motorsport’s most prestigious championships. For Saudi Arabia, which has hosted a street circuit Grand Prix in Jeddah since 2021, the permanent Riyadh venue represents a long-term commitment to Formula 1 that goes well beyond hosting rights.
Entertainment Beyond the Racetrack
Qiddiya’s entertainment programming extends well beyond motorsport. The Aquarabia waterpark is among the attractions in the development pipeline, designed to provide a large-scale aquatic leisure destination alongside the theme parks and sporting venues. In a development that drew significant international attention when it was announced, Qiddiya will also be home to the world’s first Dragon Ball theme park, built under license from Toei Animation and designed to bring the globally beloved franchise to life at an experiential scale.
The Six Flags Qiddiya City installation that opened in December represents the partnership with the global theme park brand, offering a range of coasters, rides, and family entertainment. As operational experience accumulates at the site, the broader Qiddiya development continues to build out what is designed to be a self-contained city of entertainment, sport, and culture — a statement of what Saudi Arabia intends to offer not only its own residents, but the world.
