2018 in Saudi Arabia

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See also:	Other events of 2018 History of Saudi Arabia

The following lists events in the year 2018 in Saudi Arabia .

Incumbents

• Monarch: Salman
• Crown Prince: Mohammad bin Salman

Events

January

• 1 January – Saudi Arabia introduces a 5% value-added tax (VAT) for the first time, with exemptions for basic necessities, medical, cultural, educational products, and financial services. ^[1]
• 12 January – Women were allowed to gather at a football game for the first time due to easing of the strict gender separation rules. ^[2]
• 24 January – Dozens of camels were disqualified from a beauty pageant near the capital of Riyadh following reports about injections of botox to make camels more attractive. ^[3]
• Several men are arrested after a video allegedly showing a gay wedding circulated online. ^[4]
• Columnist Salah al-Shehi is arrested and later sentenced to five years in prison for alleging corruption in the royal court. ^[4]

February

• 26 February – Saudi Arabia appears before the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to defend its record; the committee urged reforms including abolishing male guardianship and adopting a unified family code. ^[5]

March

• 26 March – The Houthis launch a barrage of rockets at Saudi Arabia, killing an Egyptian man and leaving two others wounded in Riyadh. ^[6]

April

• 30 April – VOX Cinemas opens Saudi Arabia's first multiplex cinema following the lifting of a 35-year cinema ban. ^[1]

May

• 15 May – Authorities launch arrests of prominent women's rights activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul and Aziza al-Yousef, as part of a crackdown on the women's rights movement. ^[5]
• 27 May – The Red Sea tourism project is incorporated as a closed joint-stock company. ^[7]

June

• 24 June – The ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia is lifted, allowing women to legally drive across the Kingdom. ^[1]
• Historian and women's rights advocate Hatoon al-Fassi is arrested after commenting on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reforms in the New York Times. ^[4]

July

• Activists Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah are arrested for opposing male guardianship laws. ^[4]

August

• Saudi Arabia withdraws its ambassador from Canada, restricts trade and travel, and repatriates Saudis following Canadian calls for release of detained human rights activists. ^[4]

September

• 17 September – The Red Sea Development forms a 12-member advisory board. ^[7]
• Prosecutors formally request the death penalty for prominent dissident clerics Salman al-Awdah and Awad al-Qarni. ^[4]

October

• 2 October – Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi enters the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and is murdered. Turkish intelligence records and later releases the details implicating Saudi officials. ^[8]
• 23 October – The Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit in Riyadh sees the signing of deals worth over $50 billion in energy and infrastructure sectors. ^[1]

Deaths

Mohammed Al-Mfarah

Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

• 23 January – Mohammed Al-Mfarah, actor (b. 1945). ^[9]
• 2 October – Jamal Khashoggi, journalist (b. 1958) ^[10]
• 27 November – Sultan Al-Bargan, football player (b. 1983). ^[11]
• 22 December – Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince (b. 1931). ^[12]

References

1. "The Year That Was: 10 key events in 2018 that changed Saudi Arabia". ArgaamPlus. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
2. "Saudi Arabia allows women at football game for first time". BBC News. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
3. Wamsley, Laurel (24 January 2018). "A Dozen Camels Disqualified From Saudi Beauty Pageant Over Botox Injections Facebook Twitter Flipboard Email". NPR. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
4. "Saudi Arabia: Freedom in the World 2019 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
5. Human Rights Watch (2018-12-17), "Saudi Arabia: Events of 2018", Share this via Facebook, retrieved 2025-08-28
6. Rashad, Marwa; Dadouch, Sarah; al-Ansi, Abdulrahman (28 March 2018). "Barrage of missiles on Saudi Arabia ramps up Yemen war". Reuters .
7. "Red Sea Project". www.argaam.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
8. Lindsay, James M. "Ten Most Significant World Events in 2018 | Council on Foreign Relations". www.cfr.org. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
9. "الفنان السعودي "محمد المفرح" الشهير بـ"أبو مسامح"". thenewkhalij.org (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
10. "Saudi Arabia admits Khashoggi killed but claims he died in 'fist-fight'". theguardian.com. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
11. "كيف تحول سلطان البرقان إلى أيقونة نادي الهلال السعودي بعد رحيله؟". Eremnews (in Arabic). 27 November 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
12. "Saudi Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz passes away aged 87". Al Arabiya. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.