The 966 Episode 75! The hosts discuss the recently-concluded LEAP conference and exhibition in Riyadh and how Saudi Arabia is increasingly becoming a leader in the space in the region. They also discuss how Riyadh is, in general, becoming a more attractive destination for global events, a concept once difficult to imagine before the Kingdom opened up its borders to tourists. The hosts conclude as always with Yallah! A rundown of 6 top storylines this week in Saudi Arabia to get you up to date heading into the weekend.

4:05 - Richard's one big thing is all the international events ongoing in Saudi Arabia and its capital, Riyadh, these days, making it a global destination for events.

10:30 - Lucien's one big thing is LEAP, the four-day long event in the Kingdom that welcomed thousands of visitors and over 700 speakers to talk tech, VC, and next-generation industries. The event also saw 900 exhibitors. The event kicked off with some headline-grabbing major announcements of large investment figures by Minister of Communications and Information Technology in Saudi Arabia Abdullah Alswaha, in a keynote. The minister announced investments worth $9 billion to support future technologies, digital entrepreneurship, and tech startups, all with the overall goal of advancing the Kingdom’s position as the largest digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Saudi Arabia has expanded its Nusuk programme for Hajj pilgrims to more countries around the world. Nusuk is a unified government portal that helps pilgrims to apply and pay online for electronic visas, book flights and pay for accommodation and transport. The move will benefit pilgrims from Europe, the US, Australia and more than 58 countries and will, “raise the quality of the services provided to enrich the religious and cultural experience, while also achieving the objectives of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 programmes.” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah as saying.

The 11th edition of The Big 5 Saudi, organized by dmg events, will take place at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center from 18-21 February 2023. This largest construction event in Saudi Arabia will bring together 28,000+ attendees and over 750 local and international exhibitors from 40 countries, showcasing the latest in construction innovations and technologies.  Twelve country pavilions will shine the spotlight on construction solutions from Italy, Germany, Greece, Poland, Spain, Egypt, China, Kuwait, Turkiye, Qatar, Austria and India.

Saudi Arabia has offered to pay for new football stadiums in Greece and Egypt in return for their alliance in jointly bidding to host the 2030 World Cup. The joint bid between the three friendly countries is in competition with a joint European bid by Spain, Portugal and Ukraine, and a joint South American bid by Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile. The window for bids opened in June last year, and the decision on the tournament will be voted on by the 200-member FIFA congress in 2024.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Saudi Arabia rose 10.7% in the third quarter of 2022 over the same period a year earlier, figures from the investment ministry showed. FDI inflows totalled 7.2 billion riyals ($1.9 billion) in the third quarter of 2022, according to the investment ministry's latest monthly bulletin published on Monday, versus 6.5 billion riyals in the third quarter of 2021.

Salem Al Dawsari scored two penalties as Al Hilal beat Flamengo 3-2 to become the first Saudi Arabian club to reach the Fifa Club World Cup final. Al-Hilal football club will go head-to-head against 5-time Fifa Club World Cup winner Real Madrid in the final this Saturday after the Spanish team’s 4-1 win over Egypt’s al-Ahly.

Saudi Arabia's gaming industry received a boost with new funding worth $488 million, as the kingdom pushes forward in positioning itself as a global leader in the industry. The financing is being provided by the Saudi Esports Federation, National Development Fund and the Social Development Bank. It targets both the gaming and e-sports sectors. The gaming industry in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest economy, is poised to grow 250 per cent by 2030, with e-sports leading the growth, a recent study from YouGov found.