Latest news with #AlUlaMoments
CairoScene
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Your Guide to AlUla's Season of Sound, Sport & Storytelling
From ancient ruins lit by candlelight to desert dance floors—AlUla's 2025–2026 season is a journey through time, rhythm, and renewal in one of Saudi's most iconic destinations. Framed by sandstone cliffs and stories carved into stone, AlUla is no longer just a place to visit—it's a destination to return to, again and again. Each year, AlUla transforms into the backdrop for 'AlUla Moments'—a curated, six-month season of festivals, concerts, wellness retreats, outdoor adventures, and cultural experiences set in one of Saudi Arabia's most storied landscapes. Running from September 2025 to February 2026, the upcoming season weaves together everything from electronic sets in the desert to candlelit heritage tours, sound baths in ancient valleys to cycling races across timeless terrain. So, whether you're here for rhythm or reflection, performance or pilgrimage—this is your map to everything unfolding in the 2025–2026 AlUla Moments season. September – AZIMUTH The season opens with a sonic desert storm—AZIMUTH, AlUla's signature music and digital art festival, merges global beats with immersive visuals under star-studded skies. October – AlUla Wellness Festival From sound healing and meditation in Ashar Valley to Les Mills pop-ups, a half marathon, duathlon, and triathlon—this is where stillness meets stamina. November – Ancient Kingdoms Festival AlUla becomes a living museum—you can wander The Incense Road, experience Hegra After Dark, or look up for the drone show above ancient tombs. December – Winter at Tantora Winter at Tantora blends gastronomy, music, and heritage—featuring performances by Ahlam, pop-ups from Ducasse and Annabel's, Tantora Nights, and a celebration of Saudi craft. January – Sport and Art Collide From AlUla Desert Polo and the AlUla Tour cycling race to AlUla Arts Festival, January delivers a dynamic blend of sport and culture—featuring Desert X, Centre Pompidou exhibitions, and design showcases across the AlJadidah Arts District. February – Endurance and Adventure AlFursan Endurance returns with top-tier equestrian competition, while the AlUla Trail Race challenges athletes across some of the region's most dramatic natural terrain.
Mid East Info
7 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Mid East Info
ALULA WELLNESS FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS OCTOBER WITH NEW ENDURANCE AND FITNESS EVENTS - Middle East Business News and Information
AlUla will once again host the return of the AlUla Wellness Festival from 24th October to 1st November 2025, inviting visitors to unwind, reconnect, and take part in a wide range of wellness and fitness experiences across the region's iconic landscapes. As part of the AlUla Moments calendar, the festival focuses on physical and mental wellbeing through movement, mindfulness, and community-based activities. The programme caters to all levels — from those seeking calm and stillness to those pursuing high-energy challenges — offering a balance of personal reflection and collective experiences in a uniquely natural setting. New Additions for 2025: Performance and Endurance Highlights This year introduces new mass participation events, sparking competition across running, cycling and swimming. AlUla Duathlon: The festival inaugurates with the introduction of AlUla Duathlon — a multisport event featuring Olympic, Sprint, and Kids' distances. Participants will run and cycle through AlUla's varied terrain, including desert, oasis, and mountain routes. The race village at Winter Park will offer food options and live DJ sets for both participants and spectators. AlUla Half Marathon: Taking place on Saturday 25th October, the AlUla Half Marathon includes 21.1km, 10km, 5km, 3km, and 1.5km children's races. The course runs through AlUla's scenic heritage areas, offering a unique backdrop for runners of all abilities. It also serves as an official lead-up to the 2026 Riyadh Marathon and will include entertainment and hospitality for attendees. Ashar Valley Triathlon: Set at the iconic Our Habitas AlUla swimming pool and decking area, this triathlon features a 3000m static row, 3000m static cycle, and a 300m swim. Participants will compete in timed waves, with a post-race breakfast provided. The event combines athletic challenge with a relaxed, premium setting. Ride with the Pros: Cyclists can train alongside professional riders from Team Jayco AlUla through a guided programme that includes two 90km rides, coaching sessions, and support from team staff — including mechanics, a doctor, and nutritionists. The experience gives cycling enthusiasts a rare look into the world of elite competition, all in AlUla's open-air terrain. AlUla 24-Hour Endurance Race: Teams and solo runners are invited to complete as many laps as possible of the 8km Camel Track within 24 hours. Open to groups of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 participants, the event offers a test of endurance, teamwork, and mental focus in an outdoor setting designed to challenge and inspire. Ongoing Wellness and Fitness Programming: In addition to endurance events, the AlUla Yoga Program will offer 78 sessions taking place at Banyan Tree, Our Habitas AlUla, Shaden Resort, and the Five Senses Sanctuary from 24 October to 1 November 2025. The Yoga Program will run alongside Les Mills fitness classes, hosted across AlUla's most iconic locations. A total of 22 sessions will take place at various landmarks including: Elephant Rock, Harrat Viewpoint, Maraya Rooftop, Heart of the Oasis, Hegra, and the Old Town Amphitheatre — giving fitness enthusiasts the opportunity to train with Les Mills and their elite-level instructors. Further details will be announced soon. Blending heritage, landscape, and wellness practices, the AlUla Wellness Festival continues to grow as a destination for those looking to reset both body and mind in a setting unlike anywhere else.
Zawya
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Zawya
AlUla Wellness Festival returns this october with new endurance and fitness events
AlUla, Saudi Arabia: AlUla will once again host the return of the AlUla Wellness Festival from 24th October to 1st November 2025, inviting visitors to unwind, reconnect, and take part in a wide range of wellness and fitness experiences across the region's iconic landscapes. As part of the AlUla Moments calendar, the festival focuses on physical and mental wellbeing through movement, mindfulness, and community-based activities. The programme caters to all levels — from those seeking calm and stillness to those pursuing high-energy challenges — offering a balance of personal reflection and collective experiences in a uniquely natural setting. New Additions for 2025: Performance and Endurance Highlights This year introduces new mass participation events, sparking competition across running, cycling and swimming. AlUla Duathlon: The festival inaugurates with the introduction of AlUla Duathlon — a multisport event featuring Olympic, Sprint, and Kids' distances. Participants will run and cycle through AlUla's varied terrain, including desert, oasis, and mountain routes. The race village at Winter Park will offer food options and live DJ sets for both participants and spectators. AlUla Half Marathon: Taking place on Saturday 25th October, the AlUla Half Marathon includes 21.1km, 10km, 5km, 3km, and 1.5km children's races. The course runs through AlUla's scenic heritage areas, offering a unique backdrop for runners of all abilities. It also serves as an official lead-up to the 2026 Riyadh Marathon and will include entertainment and hospitality for attendees. Ashar Valley Triathlon Set at the iconic Our Habitas AlUla swimming pool and decking area, this triathlon features a 3000m static row, 3000m static cycle, and a 300m swim. Participants will compete in timed waves, with a post-race breakfast provided. The event combines athletic challenge with a relaxed, premium setting. Ride with the Pros Cyclists can train alongside professional riders from Team Jayco AlUla through a guided programme that includes two 90km rides, coaching sessions, and support from team staff — including mechanics, a doctor, and nutritionists. The experience gives cycling enthusiasts a rare look into the world of elite competition, all in AlUla's open-air terrain. AlUla 24-Hour Endurance Race Teams and solo runners are invited to complete as many laps as possible of the 8km Camel Track within 24 hours. Open to groups of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 participants, the event offers a test of endurance, teamwork, and mental focus in an outdoor setting designed to challenge and inspire. Ongoing Wellness and Fitness Programming In addition to endurance events, the AlUla Yoga Program will offer 78 sessions taking place at Banyan Tree, Our Habitas AlUla, Shaden Resort, and the Five Senses Sanctuary from 24 October to 1 November 2025. The Yoga Program will run alongside Les Mills fitness classes, hosted across AlUla's most iconic locations. A total of 22 sessions will take place at various landmarks including: Elephant Rock, Harrat Viewpoint, Maraya Rooftop, Heart of the Oasis, Hegra, and the Old Town Amphitheatre — giving fitness enthusiasts the opportunity to train with Les Mills and their elite-level instructors. Further details will be announced soon. Blending heritage, landscape, and wellness practices, the AlUla Wellness Festival continues to grow as a destination for those looking to reset both body and mind in a setting unlike anywhere else.
Zawya
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Zawya
AlUla Moments reveals 2025-2026 Calendar: A year of culture, music, and discovery in Arabia's Timeless Oasis
AlUla, Saudi Arabia: AlUla Moments has unveiled its eagerly awaited 2025-2026 calendar, inviting visitors from across the Kingdom and around the world to experience a year of extraordinary festivals and events. Celebrating AlUla's timeless landscapes, deep heritage, and flourishing creative scene, the calendar offers a thoughtfully curated blend of heritage, music, art, wellness, sport, gastronomy, and community experiences, reinforcing AlUla's emergence as one of the region's most inspiring year-round destinations. Rami AlMoallim, Vice President of Destination Management and Marketing at the Royal Commission for AlUla, said: 'Each year, AlUla Moments evolves to offer an even more diverse and enriching array of experiences. The 2025-2026 calendar is a testament to our commitment to creating unique and authentic events that resonate with visitors from around the world. Whether it's through heritage, music, art, adventure, or wellness, AlUla continues to inspire and captivate.' The AlUla Moments 2025-2026 launches in September with the return of AZIMUTH the annual music event to mark the Saudi National Day weekend, uniting global and regional music talent with immersive performances, and cutting-edge visuals in a celebration of culture and creativity beneath AlUla's vast open skies. October brings a renewed focus on wellness, movement, and heritage with the return of AlUla Wellness Festival, a week-long celebration of balance and transformation. Alongside daily yoga sessions, guided meditations, and live performances, the programme introduces for the first time high-energy challenges including the AlUla Half Marathon Road Race, AlUla 24-Hour Endurance Race, AlUla Duathlon, and Ashar Valley Triathlon, alongside iconic fitness sessions with Les Mills, all inviting participants to push their limits amid breathtaking desert landscapes. Launching in November, The Ancient Kingdoms Festival invites visitors to 'journey through time' and experience AlUla's spectacular ancient sites and stories, brought to life in exciting new ways. From day-time discoveries to after-dark encounters, visitors can step into the world's largest living museum to explore the extraordinary landscapes shaped by nature, history, and human legacy at the heart of the Incense Road. Highlights include Hegra After Dark , The Incense Road Experience, the epic Hegra Drone Show 'Stories from the Sky', Ikmah After Dark and Hegra Candlelit Classics concerts, featuring world-renowned international artists. An unmissable opportunity for visitors to enjoy close encounters on the sites where history was made, celebrating AlUla's cultural legacy. In December, Winter at Tantora returns with its beloved blend of music, gastronomy, and heritage celebration. Opening with a tribute to the Saudi Year of Handicrafts and a performance by acclaimed artist Ahlam, this year's edition features highlights including Shorofat Tantora, Old Town Culinary Voyage, Tantora Old Town Nights, and exclusive fine dining restaurants with the return of Ducasse and Annabel's, all set against the enchanting backdrop of AlUla's historic oasis. The start of 2026 is marked by world-class sporting events that spotlight equestrian excellence and endurance racing. In January, AlUla Desert Polo returns to the purpose-built sand track near AlUla's sandstone cliffs, drawing elite players and international attention. Later that month, the AlUla Tour brings top international cyclists to the region for a multi-stage UCI Asia Tour race, showcasing AlUla's dramatic landscapes and rising status in global sport. In February, AlFursan Endurance AlUla challenges the world's top riders in one of the sport's most prestigious competitions, while the AlUla Trail Race welcomes athletes from around the globe to tackle one of the region's most scenic—and demanding—trail courses. Returning for its fifth edition in January, AlUla Arts Festival celebrates creative expression across disciplines, transforming the landscape into a living gallery. The festival features the fourth edition of Desert X AlUla, a landmark open-air exhibition placing visionary contemporary artworks by Saudi and international artists in the dramatic desert landscape, and a major new exhibition curated by AlUla's contemporary art museum in collaboration with the renowned Pompidou Centre, Paris. AlJadidah Arts District will again be animated by performances and programming and will feature an exhibition of contemporary AlUla-inspired design. The AlUla Moments 2025-2026 calendar reflects the destination's evolution into a global stage for creative expression, human connection, and extraordinary experiences. It celebrates what makes AlUla truly unique - its culture, nature, and community - and extends a bold invitation for the world to be part of its revitalizing story. About AlUla Moments: AlUla Moments is AlUla's new home for events. AlUla Moments calendar was launched at the end of 2021 and introduced new festivals and events to celebrate and unlock AlUla's stories, uncover its secrets, and celebrate local and international cultures. With 7,000 years of continuous human civilisations and home to some of the most sophisticated ancient kingdoms of antiquity, AlUla is no stranger to social gatherings and cultural celebrations. AlUla Moments calendar comprises of five festivals offering diverse experiences in art, culture, music, nature, wellness, equestrian activities, dining, and astronomy. The AlUla Wellness Festival featuring the latest practices to engage the mind, body and soul; Winter at Tantora, the original AlUla celebration of heritage, culture, fashion and music; the Ancient Kingdoms Festival offers immersive events acknowledging the ancient civilisations that lived in AlUla and its neighboring oases in Khaybar and Tayma; AlUla Skies Festival with the popular hot air balloons and stargazing experiences; and AlUla Arts Festival bringing together contemporary and ancient art events and experiences. In addition to the festivals AlUla Moments calendar offers a number of marquee events, including AZIMUTH and Richard Mille AlUla Desert Polo, along with the heritage sports events such as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup, AlUla Camel Cup, AlUla Falcon Cup, the Tent Pegging World Championship and Horseback Archery World Cup, a world-class fashion, adventure and sporting events. About AlUla: Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned. The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 52-hectare ancient city, Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and is comprised of 140 well-preserved tombs, many with elaborate facades cut out of the sandstone outcrops surrounding the walled urban settlement. Current research also suggests Hegra was the most southern outpost of the Roman Empire after the Roman's conquered the Nabataeans in 106 CE. In addition to Hegra, AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages, which has been recently listed on the UNESCO's memory of the World Register. Also AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes developed from at least the 12th century, which has been selected as one of the World's Best Tourism Villages in 2022 by the UNWTO.
Mid East Info
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mid East Info
AlUla Moments Reveals 2025-2026 Calendar: A Year of Culture, Music, and Discovery in Arabia's Timeless Oasis
AlUla Moments has unveiled its eagerly awaited 2025-2026 calendar, inviting visitors from across the Kingdom and around the world to experience a year of extraordinary festivals and events. Celebrating AlUla's timeless landscapes, deep heritage, and flourishing creative scene, the calendar offers a thoughtfully curated blend of heritage, music, art, wellness, sport, gastronomy, and community experiences, reinforcing AlUla's emergence as one of the region's most inspiring year-round destinations. Rami AlMoallim, Vice President of Destination Management and Marketing at the Royal Commission for AlUla, said: 'Each year, AlUla Moments evolves to offer an even more diverse and enriching array of experiences. The 2025-2026 calendar is a testament to our commitment to creating unique and authentic events that resonate with visitors from around the world. Whether it's through heritage, music, art, adventure, or wellness, AlUla continues to inspire and captivate.' The AlUla Moments 2025-2026 launches in September with the return of AZIMUTH the annual music event to mark the Saudi National Day weekend, uniting global and regional music talent with immersive performances, and cutting-edge visuals in a celebration of culture and creativity beneath AlUla's vast open skies. October brings a renewed focus on wellness, movement, and heritage with the return of AlUla Wellness Festival, a week-long celebration of balance and transformation. Alongside daily yoga sessions, guided meditations, and live performances, the programme introduces for the first time high-energy challenges including the AlUla Half Marathon Road Race, AlUla 24-Hour Endurance Race, AlUla Duathlon, and Ashar Valley Triathlon, alongside iconic fitness sessions with Les Mills, all inviting participants to push their limits amid breathtaking desert landscapes. Launching in November, The Ancient Kingdoms Festival invites visitors to 'journey through time' and experience AlUla's spectacular ancient sites and stories, brought to life in exciting new ways. From day-time discoveries to after-dark encounters, visitors can step into the world's largest living museum to explore the extraordinary landscapes shaped by nature, history, and human legacy at the heart of the Incense Road. Highlights include Hegra After Dark , The Incense Road Experience, the epic Hegra Drone Show 'Stories from the Sky', Ikmah After Dark and Hegra Candlelit Classics concerts, featuring world-renowned international artists. An unmissable opportunity for visitors to enjoy close encounters on the sites where history was made, celebrating AlUla's cultural legacy. In December, Winter at Tantora returns with its beloved blend of music, gastronomy, and heritage celebration. Opening with a tribute to the Saudi Year of Handicrafts and a performance by acclaimed artist Ahlam, this year's edition features highlights including Shorofat Tantora, Old Town Culinary Voyage, Tantora Old Town Nights, and exclusive fine dining restaurants with the return of Ducasse and Annabel's, all set against the enchanting backdrop of AlUla's historic oasis. The start of 2026 is marked by world-class sporting events that spotlight equestrian excellence and endurance racing. In January, AlUla Desert Polo returns to the purpose-built sand track near AlUla's sandstone cliffs, drawing elite players and international attention. Later that month, the AlUla Tour brings top international cyclists to the region for a multi-stage UCI Asia Tour race, showcasing AlUla's dramatic landscapes and rising status in global sport. In February, AlFursan Endurance AlUla challenges the world's top riders in one of the sport's most prestigious competitions, while the AlUla Trail Race welcomes athletes from around the globe to tackle one of the region's most scenic—and demanding—trail courses. Returning for its fifth edition in January, AlUla Arts Festival celebrates creative expression across disciplines, transforming the landscape into a living gallery. The festival features the fourth edition of Desert X AlUla, a landmark open-air exhibition placing visionary contemporary artworks by Saudi and international artists in the dramatic desert landscape, and a major new exhibition curated by AlUla's contemporary art museum in collaboration with the renowned Pompidou Centre, Paris. AlJadidah Arts District will again be animated by performances and programming and will feature an exhibition of contemporary AlUla-inspired design. The AlUla Moments 2025-2026 calendar reflects the destination's evolution into a global stage for creative expression, human connection, and extraordinary experiences. It celebrates what makes AlUla truly unique – its culture, nature, and community – and extends a bold invitation for the world to be part of its revitalizing story.
