Founding Day speech template (Saudi Arabia)
Published 10 October 2026 · Date checked on 5 October 2026 · Written by the Cue Card Converter team at EventProgrammer, event production professionals
Founding Day is a public holiday in Saudi Arabia on 22 February. It commemorates the founding of the first Saudi state by Imam Muhammad bin Saud in 1727, with Diriyah as its capital. The day was established by royal order in 2022 and is separate from Saudi National Day in September. Celebrations focus on history and heritage: people wear traditional dress from different regions, and towns and cities host cultural events and performances of the ardah, the traditional sword dance.
- Date
- February 22
- Next dates
- Monday 22 February 2027
Tuesday 22 February 2028
Thursday 22 February 2029 - Country
- Saudi Arabia
- Tone
- Celebratory
- Typical events
- Schools, universities, government and company celebrations, Saudi embassies and student clubs abroad, and heritage festivals held on or around 22 February.
- Length
- 175 spoken words · about 1.5 min at 130 words a minute · 4 cue cards
The Founding Day speech, ready as cue cards
A complete host script in 4 cards, about 1.5 minutes of speaking. Open it in the editor to add your names, change the card size or highlights, and print.
- AHLAN WA SAHLAN1 / 4
Good evening, and ahlan wa sahlan. I'm {Your name}, and on behalf of {Organisation} welcome to our Founding Day celebration. It's wonderful to see so much traditional dress in the room tonight. You have set the scene better than any decoration could. - DEEP ROOTS2 / 4
In 1727, Imam Muhammad bin Saud founded the first Saudi state, with Diriyah as its capital. Founding Day was first celebrated in 2022 to honour these deep roots. It is a day about heritage: the people, places, crafts and traditions that came before us. - THE ARDAH3 / 4
Now for a moment many of you have been waiting for. Please welcome {Ardah troupe}, who will perform the ardah, with its drums, poetry and swords.
[ARDAH PERFORMANCE]
Thank you. Traditions like this survive because people choose to carry them forward, and tonight we have seen that. - COFFEE, DATES AND THANKS4 / 4
Thank you all for celebrating with us. Saudi coffee and dates are waiting for you, served in the spirit of welcome that has long been part of this land. Please enjoy the evening, take some photographs in your finest dress, and happy Founding Day.
Red is used only for names, titles, organisations, dates, times and section headings. Replace the words in {curly brackets} with your own details; lines in [SQUARE BRACKETS] are stage directions and are not read aloud.
How to adapt it
- Founding Day and Saudi National Day are different occasions. Founding Day recalls the first Saudi state in 1727; National Day on 23 September marks the unification of the Kingdom in 1932. Keep the facts separate.
- Invite guests to wear traditional dress from any region of Saudi Arabia. A short note in the invitation encourages them and makes for a colourful room and memorable photographs.
- Serve Saudi coffee and dates, the classic gesture of hospitality, rather than planning a toast with glasses. Non-alcoholic drinks are expected at Saudi celebrations.
- Founding Day has its own official logo and visual identity. Check the current guidance before printing invitations or banners, and use the logo only as permitted.
Print and rehearse
“Edit and print these cards” opens the script in the free cue card maker, where you can choose A5, 4 × 6 or 3 × 5 inch cards, print several per sheet with cut lines or export PDF, PowerPoint and Word, and rehearse full screen in practice mode. To write your own programme around it, see how to write an MC script and the run of show template.
Sources
Date and background checked on 5 October 2026 against: The Founding Day | National Platform (National Portal). Customs vary between organisations and regions; always follow the official programme of your event.
More Saudi Arabia speech templates
- Saudi National Day · September 23