LEAP 2026 Postponed: How War Killed the Kingdom's $42 Billion Tech Stage

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre in Malham should be full this week. Four hundred thousand square metres of floor space. Fifteen stages. Eighteen hundred exhibitors. Two hundred thousand visitors. And — if the pattern of the previous four editions held — somewhere between $13 and $15 billion in technology investment announcements, delivered with the theatrical precision that has made LEAP the most commercially productive technology conference on earth.

Instead, the halls are empty. LEAP 2026, originally scheduled for 13-16 April, has been rescheduled to 31 August - 3 September. DeepFest, the co-located artificial intelligence conference that was expected to draw 68,000 attendees and 180 speakers across its fifth edition, moved with it. The reason is 1,200 kilometres to the northeast, where the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since early March and where Saudi Arabia has intercepted 894 Iranian drones and missiles since 3 March 2026.

Saudi MICE Industry: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Saudi MICE Industry Analysis and KPIs

Saudi Arabia’s MICE industry is the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions market that turns Riyadh, Jeddah, and the Eastern Province into business-event hubs. The most useful KPIs are event volume, venue capacity, delegate traffic, hotel-room supply, international exhibitors, and the conversion of conferences such as FII and LEAP into investment, headquarters, and tourism demand.

The strategic importance of MICE extends beyond direct tourism revenue. Conferences and exhibitions create platforms for business networking, deal-making, and knowledge exchange that support the Kingdom’s broader economic development objectives. A successful MICE industry amplifies the benefits of other Vision 2030 investments — bringing global investors, technology companies, and industry leaders into direct contact with Saudi counterparts.

Conferences on SAUDI VISION 2030 Intelligence Platform

LEAP 2026 Postponed: How War Killed the Kingdom's $42 Billion Tech Stage

Saudi MICE Industry: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions

Saudi MICE Industry Analysis and KPIs