Free tools/Social content
GCC marketing calendar: the Gulf's campaign dates in one place
Every date a Gulf campaign plans around, from Ramadan and Eid to each country's national day, White Friday and the Dubai Shopping Festival, with a note on what each one asks of your marketing. Filter by country and download it into your own calendar.
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Every dated moment for the GCC, 2026 and 2027, as a .ics file for Google, Apple or Outlook. Download it again later to pick up expected dates once they are confirmed. Seasons whose dates change every year are left out of the file.
2026
32 momentsJanuary
February
A public holiday built around getting active. Sports, fitness and outdoor brands lead.
Large communities in the UAE celebrate. Retail and dining offers do well in Dubai.
The month shapes everything: screen time moves to after iftar and late at night. Book creators and media a month ahead, lead with family, generosity and giving back, and save the hardest sales for the last ten nights. When to post during Ramadan
Expected date. Confirmed by moon sighting shortly before, and sometimes a day later.
Marks the founding of the first Saudi state in 1727, with its own heritage identity: traditional dress and history rather than green.
Kuwait's national celebrations run across both days. National colours everywhere, and usually a long weekend.
March
The Saudi flag's day. Not a public holiday; flag content must follow the strict rules on its use.
Gifting, fashion, dining and travel peak in the last week of Ramadan. Have Eid greetings ready for the first morning and offers running across the holiday.
Expected date. Confirmed by moon sighting shortly before, and sometimes a day later.
Mother's Day is 21 March across the Arab world, not May. Gifting, beauty and dining lead.
May
A day of worship and, for many, fasting. Keep campaigns quiet; a greeting is enough.
Expected date. Confirmed by moon sighting shortly before, and sometimes a day later.
The big travel moment of the first half of the year. Travel, hospitality and gifting campaigns land best in the two weeks before.
Expected date. Confirmed by moon sighting shortly before, and sometimes a day later.
June
A public holiday and a quiet day for brands. A simple greeting is enough.
Expected date. Confirmed by moon sighting shortly before, and sometimes a day later.
July
Summer sales and family events in Dubai.
Dates change each year and are announced by the organisers.
August
Schools in the UAE and Saudi Arabia usually start in late August: stationery, electronics, uniforms and family offers.
Dates change each year and are announced by the organisers.
The Prophet's birthday. Keep content respectful; some countries give a public holiday.
Expected date. Confirmed by moon sighting shortly before, and sometimes a day later.
Celebrates Emirati women. A strong moment for women-led stories and partnerships.
September
The biggest national moment in Saudi Arabia. An official theme and visual identity is published each year, and brand creative is built around it.
October
The region's largest technology show, in Dubai.
Dates change each year and are announced by the organisers.
Concerts, events and entertainment zones across Riyadh, and a big stage for brand partnerships.
Dates change each year and are announced by the organisers.
November
Flags are raised across the country at 11am. A moment for respectful, flag-led content.
Widely celebrated across the Gulf's Indian communities: gold, fashion, sweets and the home.
A growing online sale day in the Gulf, and a warm-up for White Friday.
Oman's National Day, marked on 20 November with a public holiday.
The Gulf's biggest online sale weekend, called White Friday or Yellow Friday by some retailers. Ad costs climb that week, so book media early and tease offers the week before.
Honours the UAE's martyrs. A solemn day: keep content respectful and leave sales out.
December
Sales, raffles and concerts across Dubai. Dates are announced by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment.
Dates change each year and are announced by the organisers.
Eid Al Etihad, the UAE's biggest national moment and usually a long weekend. Campaigns in the national colours start a week or two ahead. Use the flag and emblem with care: the rules on how they appear in advertising are strict.
Two days of celebration, 16 and 17 December, in red and white.
Qatar's biggest day, in maroon and white, centred on the Darb Al Saai celebrations.
Big for hospitality, retail and gifting in the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.
Dubai's fireworks make it one of the most watched nights of the year. Hospitality and events campaigns peak.
What it does
Marketing in the Gulf runs to a calendar the rest of the world does not share. Ramadan arrives eleven days earlier each year, every country has its own national day, and the biggest sale weekend has its own local names. This calendar gathers the moments that matter across the six GCC countries: religious dates, national days, retail peaks such as White Friday, 11.11 and the Dubai Shopping Festival, and cultural moments like Diwali, Lunar New Year and Christmas that are big for the Gulf's many communities. Each comes with a short note on what it means for a campaign.
Dates are marked for what they are. Islamic dates follow the moon, so they are given as expected from the Umm al-Qura calendar Saudi Arabia uses, and each is confirmed by moon sighting shortly before, sometimes a day later. Events whose dates are announced each year, such as Riyadh Season, GITEX and the start of the school year, are shown as the months they usually fall in and are left out of the calendar file, so no invented date ends up in your diary.
How to use it
- Pick a country to see only its dates, or keep all six in view.
- Read the note on each moment: when to book creators and media, and how the day changes.
- Download the .ics file and open it in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook.
- Check the expected Islamic dates again as each one approaches.
Questions, answered
How reliable are the Ramadan and Eid dates?
Treat them as forecasts. They come from Umm al-Qura, the astronomical calendar used in Saudi Arabia, but each month only begins once the moon is sighted shortly beforehand, and that can move a date by a day. Every such date is marked as expected, so look again as it approaches.
Why do some entries say usually instead of giving a date?
Some events are dated anew by their organisers every year, including the Dubai Shopping Festival, Riyadh Season, GITEX and the new school year. Rather than put a guess in your diary, the calendar shows the months they normally fall in and leaves them out of the downloadable file.
Does it include public holidays?
The occasions are there, from Eid to every national day, but not the length of the break. Each government announces the days off itself, sometimes only shortly beforehand, so the calendar marks the occasion rather than guessing the holiday. For deadlines, the working days calculator removes each country's public holidays.
How do I add it to my own calendar?
Download the .ics file; Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook will all open it. Filter to one country before downloading if you only want that country's dates.
Which countries does it cover?
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Moments the whole region shares, like Ramadan and White Friday, show up under every country; a national day appears only under the country it belongs to.
What does each kind of moment ask of a campaign?
For Ramadan and Eid, book creators and media a month ahead and move posting into the evenings. National days are each country's biggest moment, with their own colours and rules on how the flag and emblem may be used. Sale moments such as White Friday, 11.11 and the Dubai Shopping Festival push ad costs up, so early planning pays.
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