Jasmine Bager<\/a>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is looking forward to the grand opening in mid-2026 of a new entertainment complex in the capital, the much-anticipated Seven Al-Hamra.<\/p>\n
The attraction, which developer Saudi Entertainment Ventures is keen to point out is \u201cnot a theme park,\u201d is one of 14 projects the company is rolling out across the Kingdom as part of its SR50 billion ($13.3 billion) plan to reinvent the country\u2019s leisure landscape.<\/p>\n
The SR3.6 billion Al-Hamra will include 168,000 sq. meters of activity spaces across 10 zones, featuring 19 homegrown attractions and five based on international intellectual properties.<\/p>\n
The experiences on offer will include Formula E karting simulators and a Flow House surfing venue. Visitors will be able to float in the air in an indoor skydiving chamber; encounter shape-changing robots in the world\u2019s first Transformers attraction, developed with toy manufacturer Hasbro; explore science-themed adventures with Warner Bros Discovery; and tackle climbing challenges enhanced through wall-tracking tech and interactive scoring.<\/p>\n
An indoor hubless Ferris wheel will anchor the destination as its visual centerpiece, and advanced simulation, motion and safety technologies will be embedded in every zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cEntertainment is for everyone, whether you are 2 years old or 92 years old,\u201d Damien Latham, chief entertainment operations officer at Saudi Entertainment Ventures told Arab News.<\/p>\n
With more than 30 years of experience leading the development and operations of leisure and retail attractions in the region and the UK, he joined Seven in 2019 and helped see the company through the pandemic and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to make sure that we responded to the need, to the appetite, for world-class entertainment destinations in all areas of Saudi Arabia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Likening the company\u2019s plans to the \u201crealms of a new genre of entertainment,\u201d he added: \u201cWe\u2019re excited to see that whole ecosystem come about.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project has been developed, for the people of Saudi Arabia, to be a sustainable entertainment ecosystem, but there will be a global recognition of what Saudi Arabia has achieved in this development.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of our designs are Saudi-led, Saudi-inspired, and in our own team we\u2019ve got a lot of young Saudi nationals that have just been absolutely hungry to develop and move things. It\u2019s a place for them to (eventually) go with their own families and something that they would be able to experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attractions and rides have been designed to safely and easily accommodate those who choose to wear traditional thobes and abayas. Another key factor in the planning for the project was support for aspiring athletes in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got new sports coming in,\u201d Latham said. \u201cI can\u2019t talk too much about it but we\u2019ve got 150-odd attractions that we\u2019ve developed over the portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n
With obesity a lingering concern in the Kingdom, this is one way in which Seven aims to help address this health issue.<\/p>\n
But while Al-Hamra will be packed with plenty of activities for those who wish to participate, equally as important is the fact that it will have facilities for spectators who just want to watch loved ones have fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project is allowing that family bonding, that friendship moment to happen in communities again,\u201d Latham said. \u201cI think that makes us a standout destination. This will create a memory-maker.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than going on a Ferris wheel next to your brother, your sister, your friend, your wife; experiencing that entertainment through a simulator; seeing your kids competitively climb against each other in an adventure zone; just enjoying a coffee in the center of our public grounds, watching an amazing immersive show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inclusivity is a priority, developers say, with seamless access and facilities to suit all requirements, including wheelchair-accessible elevators, prayer rooms and adaptive activity areas.<\/p>\n
Developers say Al-Hamra aims to channel the company\u2019s mission to turn movement and play into a joyful and accessible lifestyle, while supporting local talent, creating jobs, and spearheading efforts to achieve the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, including a healthier quality of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re targeting the second half of the year,\u201d Latham said of the yet to be announced opening date for Al-Hamra. \u201cAnd we\u2019re so excited about it. The best bit about this job is happening now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.arabnews.jp \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New attraction set to open in second half of 2026, offering a host of activities and entertainment It is one of 14 projects from Saudi Entertainment Ventures as part of its $13.3 billion plan to reinvent the Kingdom\u2019s leisure landscape Jasmine Bager RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is looking forward to the grand opening in mid-2026 of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2206374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2206373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Riyadh-gears-up-for-grand-opening-of-entertainment-destination-Seven.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2206373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2206375,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206373\/revisions\/2206375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2206374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2206373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2206373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2206373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}