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The Saudi Press Agency announced the launch of a digital version of its Saudi Arabia’s History Exhibition on February 22, 2026, to mark the country’s Founding Day. The rollout occurred under the patronage of Salman Al-Dossary in his capacity as Minister of Media and chairman of the SPA board of directors. The agency described the platform as an accessible means of presenting the nation’s historical journey to a broad audience both domestically and internationally.
The exhibition presents a sequential timeline of the Saudi state’s history beginning with the foundation of the First Saudi State 299 years ago according to the SPA statement. It chronicles the key developments across the three Saudi states and the unification process that led to the modern Kingdom. The digital format allows users to explore documented events artifacts and milestones through an interactive interface the agency reported.
A royal decree issued by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2022 established February 22 as Founding Day to commemorate the 1727 establishment of the Diriyah Emirate by Imam Muhammad bin Saud according to Saudi government publications. The annual observance highlights the historical roots of the Saudi political entity and its evolution into the contemporary state. Official records place the founding event as the starting point for the timeline featured in SPA exhibitions both past and present.
Salman Al-Dossary oversaw the initiative as part of broader efforts to leverage media tools for cultural education the SPA statement indicated. The minister’s role as board chairman positioned the agency to integrate historical content with modern digital dissemination methods. Previous physical iterations of the exhibition organized by SPA had drawn public interest in Riyadh during earlier Founding Day periods according to archival reports from the agency.
In 2024 the physical version of the exhibition ran for several days in the capital attracting visitors interested in documented historical narratives SPA records from that period show. Those events featured displays on the progression from the first Saudi state through the second and into the third under King Abdulaziz Al Saud. The shift to a digital platform in 2026 expands reach beyond in-person attendance the current announcement implied through its emphasis on online availability.
The Saudi Press Agency established in 1971 serves as the Kingdom’s primary official news source and has increasingly incorporated multimedia projects to preserve and share national heritage according to its own institutional overview. This digital exhibition aligns with that mandate by converting historical displays into a format suitable for widespread viewing. SPA encouraged engagement with the platform as a resource for understanding the foundational elements of Saudi national identity.
