Highlights from Athar Festival 2025
The third edition of Athar – Saudi Festival of Creativity, the Kingdom’s largest gathering of the creative marketing industry, wrapped up in Riyadh with more than 3,000 participants and over 250 speakers
Held on Tuesday October 21 and Wednesday October 22, Athar – Saudi Festival of Creativity brought two days of knowledge exchange and bold discourse to a powerful close, delivering over 100 hours of sessions, activations, and meetings focused on creativity, marketing, and the ideas shaping Saudi Arabia’s future in the industry.
Voices that shaped the dialogue
This year’s agenda brought together a broad mix of perspectives from across sectors. In a fireside chat, HRH Princess Lamia Bint Majed Al Saud spoke about authenticity, cultural identity, and women’s growing influence in leadership roles. Ellie Norman examined how sports, technology, and storytelling can connect global audiences in new ways. Director Ali Ali provided a behind-the-scenes look at the realities and pressures of commercial filmmaking.
Meanwhile, celebrated actor and comedian Ahmed Helmy spoke about the mechanics of humour in creative communication; Jo Malone CBE shared reflections on brand longevity, speaking to the value of intuition and perseverance in building emotional connections that last. Mo Gawdat offered his perspective on the future of creativity, challenging audiences to rethink how artificial intelligence is influencing choices, loyalty, and the very nature of imagination.
New themes, new spaces
This year’s festival introduced new content streams and physical spaces that broadened the format and allowed for more varied forms of participation. The Screen & Influence track explored how digital creators, filmmakers, and advertisers are rethinking storytelling for evolving platforms, while the Luxury & Lifestyle stream focused on Saudi Arabia’s growing role in the global high-end market, looking at how culture, personalisation, and sustainability are shaping brand experiences.
Alongside these additions, the festival expanded its footprint with several new zones designed to create more informal engagement opportunities. The International Lounge, Networking Hub, Talent Hub, Courtyard Stage, Community Stage, and Saudi Gamer Arena brought energy beyond the main sessions.
Platforms that prepare, competitions that challenge
Athar’s learning platforms returned this year with a deeper focus, offering tailored experiences for emerging and mid-career talent. The Young Talent Academies hosted 63 participants across three tracks: BIG Student Academy, Student Ta’atheer Academy, and the NextGen Marketing & Creative Academy. Each delivered a two-day immersive experience combining workshops, industry talks, and a 24-hour hack competition built around a live brief, giving participants a fast-paced environment to test their creative and strategic skills.
The Maheerah Programme brought together 16 mid- to senior-level women from Saudi Arabia’s creative marcomms sector for a curated leadership and mentorship experience at the festival. It also connected participants to the broader Maheerah Network, a year-round platform designed to build visibility, community, and career pathways.
The Future CMO Academy also returned this year as a one-day accelerator for rising marketing professionals, offering sessions on strategic foresight, creative fluency, and resilience, alongside mentorship from senior CMOs and agency heads.
Where bold work took the spotlight
The Athar Awards closed the festival, bringing together the region’s creative and marketing community for an evening celebrating excellence across the industry. The 2025 edition drew 274 finalists across 35 categories, with 87 awards presented, a marked increase from the previous year. Judged by more than 80 experts from the public and private sectors, the awards recognised innovation in digital storytelling, emerging leadership, and new forms of brand expression.
This year introduced several new categories reflecting the industry’s growing interest in the intersection of technology and creativity. Among the new campaign-focused additions were Best Artificial Intelligence/Augmented Reality Powered Campaign and Best Video Storytelling Campaign, each spotlighting work that blends creativity with emerging technologies and digital-first thinking. On the team and individual sides, titles such as Startup of the Year and Young Creative of the Year highlighted emerging talent and collaboration across the region’s creative community.
Athar Festival 2025 snapshot
Across its two days, Athar Festival 2025 featured 39 panel discussions, 26 presentations, nine interactive sessions, six keynotes, nine fireside chats, and eight masterclasses. The program offered a panoramic view of Saudi Arabia’s creative economy, capturing the energy, ambition, and collaboration that continue to define its evolution.
Images: Supplied
