Many prominent comedians are performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, which runs from September 26 to October 9, 2025. The festival features over 50 well-known stand-up comedians including Mo Amer, Aziz Ansari, Wayne Brady, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Jimmy Carr, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Chris Distefano, Omid Djalili, Zarna Garg, Kevin Hart, Gabriel Iglesias, Jim Jefferies, Maz Jobrani, Jo Koy, Bobby Lee, Sebastian Maniscalco, Sam Morril, Mark Normand, Russell Peters, Jeff Ross, Andrew Schulz, Tom Segura, Aries Spears, Chris Tucker, and Jack Whitehall among others. Some comedians originally slated to perform, such as Tim Dillon and Nimesh Patel, withdrew due to ethical concerns about Saudi Arabia's human rights record.
The festival is part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 cultural initiative and has drawn controversy and criticism from human rights organizations and some comedians who accuse the event of whitewashing Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses. Nonetheless, it is the largest comedy festival ever held in Saudi Arabia featuring a very high-profile international roster of comedians.
