From Six Kings Slam to FIFAe finals, Saudi Arabia's events derailed by war
Some of Saudi Arabia’s flagship events — across sectors including culture, entertainment and sports — have been canceled or postponed following deadly Houthi attacks over the weekend.
Saudi Arabia has canceled or postponed a slew of international events amid regional instability and escalating attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on key infrastructure hubs across the kingdom.
The conflict intensified over the weekend, with Houthi strikes on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday and Sunday killing 13 people and wounding more than 300. The attacks were the deadliest in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade and forced the kingdom’s second-biggest airport to close until at least Oct. 17.
The disruption has hit some of Saudi Arabia’s flagship events across sectors central to its Vision 2030 program, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil.
Politics
A summit involving EU and Gulf political leaders scheduled to be held in Riyadh on Oct. 24 was postponed on Thursday due to Houthi threats and the suspension of flights at the capital's King Khalid International Airport. All 27 EU leaders had been scheduled to attend.
The GCC General Secretariat confirmed the postponement in a statement on Thursday but did not announce a new date for the summit.
Esports
On Wednesday, FIFA and the Saudi Esports Federation postponed the FIFAe Finals 2026 scheduled to take place in Jeddah on Oct. 16-25.
