Drone Racing World Cup 2025: Elite Pilots Compete for Glory in Riyadh Skies
The Drone Racing World Cup 2025 is coming to Saudi Arabia, bringing top pilots from around the globe in a thrilling competition for the first time in the Middle East.
Held from January 23-25, 2025, the highly-anticipated event will showcase the speed and skill of elite pilots in the heart of Riyadh, in addition to offering a large prize pool of over SAR 1mn.
A Riyadh Season Event
The Chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Turki Al Al-Sheikh, announced that the Riyadh Season will sponsor the upcoming Drone Racing World Cup 2025. The prestigious event will be organized by the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones, in collaboration with the World Air Sports Federation (FAI).
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Drone Racing World Cup 2025 will take place at Boulevard City. It is an outstanding venue suitable for international competitions and easily accessible for participants and visitors.
Riyadh Season 2024 is emerging as one of the largest entertainment events in the world, attracting huge number of visitors from Saudi Arabia and beyond. The annual festival offers a wide array of diverse events and activities across several innovative zones. These include wrestling, boxing, tennis, music concerts, and exceptional entertainment experiences, further solidifying Saudi Arabia’s status as a global entertainment destination.
Drone Racing World Cup 2025
The event promises to offer a spectacular competition, bringing together 140 elite pilots from over 50 countries worldwide. Drones will take over Riyadh’s skies with breathtaking speeds reaching up to 350 km/h. Moreover, large prizes exceeding SAR 1mn are waiting for the winners.
The dynamic championship will also serve as a platform to showcase technological innovation and highlight Saudi Arabia’s commitment to fostering a vibrant future for its youth. This high-energy competition aims to inspire a new generation of innovators and drone technology enthusiasts.
The Drone Racing World Cup 2025 is the inaugural round in a series of drone competitions taking place in drone racing hot spots around the world. Winners are selected based on the three best results during the year. The previous edition of the competition was held in South Korea in October 2024. After Saudi Arabia, the drone racing event will travel across several countries, including South Korea, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden.
Main Highlights
The Drone Racing World Cup 2025 will feature numerous entertaining events and engaging activities that offer attractive prizes. The Flying Experience Zone provides an extraordinary opportunity to try state-of-the-art drones, with the guidance of professional pilots in a safe and secure space. Drone enthusiasts will test their skills in piloting at this exciting event.
Moreover, the VR Drone Experience Zone offers an adrenaline-pumping adventure where participants can pilot drones at jaw-dropping speeds and execute thrilling maneuvers in an amazing virtual environment.
For the first time in the Middle East and North Africa, the Drone Racing World Cup lands in BlvdCity, sponsored by #RiyadhSeason and organized by @SAFCSP ♥️😍
January 23–25, 2025 🗓️
Book nowhttps://t.co/UeCptTkdyk#BigTime#RiyadhSeason#RDWC25 pic.twitter.com/1Yotypf6EN
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) January 19, 2025
For participants who seek to master the art of designing and building drone, the Drone Lab workshop is the perfect destination. The workshop includes three comprehensive stations where drone enthusiasts can delve deeper into the experience of drone building.
Furthermore, adrenaline junkies will like the Drone Drag Race. It is a high-speed competition for skilled pilots and enthusiasts where they will showcase their skills and performance to win the race.
Saudi Arabia: Reshaping Aviation Landscape
This marks the first time that the competition takes place in the Middle East. The selection of Saudi Arabia to host such a global event underscores the Kingdom’s commitment to establishing its status as a pioneer in Esports. It also provides a unique opportunity for Saudi participants to showcase their talent and skills in this sport.
Saudi Arabia has made major strides towards enhancing its aviation industry, in line with the ambitious Vision 2030 that aims to drive national growth through diversifying the Kingdom’s economy, empowering citizens, in addition to establishing Saudi Arabia’s status as a global leader in various fields.
In November 2024, the Kingdom hosted the largest general aviation airshow in the Middle East (Sand & Fun 2024). The spectacular event featured amazing aerial shows, interactive exhibitions, as well as a display of the latest advancements in aviation technology, inspiring the future generation of aviation enthusiasts.
