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
[edit]Events
[edit]January
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 30 April – VOX Cinemas opens Saudi Arabia's first multiplex cinema following the lifting of a 35-year cinema ban.[1]
May
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- Activists Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah are arrested for opposing male guardianship laws.[4]
August
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]
- 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
[edit]- ^ a b c d "The Year That Was: 10 key events in 2018 that changed Saudi Arabia". ArgaamPlus. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia allows women at football game for first time". BBC News. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f "Saudi Arabia: Freedom in the World 2019 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ a b Human Rights Watch (2018-12-17), "Saudi Arabia: Events of 2018", Share this via Facebook, retrieved 2025-08-28
- ^ Rashad, Marwa; Dadouch, Sarah; al-Ansi, Abdulrahman (28 March 2018). "Barrage of missiles on Saudi Arabia ramps up Yemen war". Reuters.
- ^ a b "Red Sea Project". www.argaam.com. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ Lindsay, James M. "Ten Most Significant World Events in 2018 | Council on Foreign Relations". www.cfr.org. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ "الفنان السعودي "محمد المفرح" الشهير بـ"أبو مسامح"". thenewkhalij.org (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia admits Khashoggi killed but claims he died in 'fist-fight'". theguardian.com. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "كيف تحول سلطان البرقان إلى أيقونة نادي الهلال السعودي بعد رحيله؟". Eremnews (in Arabic). 27 November 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ "Saudi Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz passes away aged 87". Al Arabiya. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.