From soccer/football to esports, major marathons and now music awards – Saudi Arabia is well on its way to becoming the events capital of the Middle East.

The Kingdom’s capital of Riyadh is gearing up to host the region’s biggest musicians and their fans on 11 December, for the first ever Billboard Arabia Music Awards (BBAMAs).

The city’s King Fahad Culture Center will be revamped for the celebrity-filled award night that will form part of the first-ever Riyadh Music week, made up of a series of music festivals and events.

While the BBAMA will shine a light of the Middle East’s fast-growing music scene, it will also showcase Riyadh as a global city with the ability to host major events from sporting to culinary and even music.  

“As one of the fastest growing music hubs, Riyadh is the perfect location to celebrate the achievements of Arab artists around the world,” said Rami M. Zeidan, Managing Director of Billboard Arabia.

“Audiences will experience the diversity of Arab music firsthand through live performances. They will see their favourite artists like never before.”

Categories for this year’s awards will capture all areas of the Arabic music industry from Arabic Hip-hop, Arabic Indie, Shelat and Mahraganat. They will also coverage various dialect charts including Khaleeji, Egyptian, Levantine and Magharebi.

Similar to Billboard Awards nights across the world, the evening will no doubt include a red carpet, a series of awards as well as live performances and surprise collaborations from established and emerging artists.

We’re personally hoping to see the likes of Al Shami, Elyanna and DYSTINCT take the stage, but not pressure organisers.

Performances and ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks, as will information for other events and festivals during Riyadh Music Week.

Who would you like to see perform at the first Billboard Arabia Music Awards?