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54,051 Saudi scholarship students were studying abroad in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n
The event is built around this year\u2019s official National Day identity, \u201cOur Pride is in Our Nature,\u201d or \u201cEzzna Betab\u2019na.\u201d Dedicated cultural areas will explore values including generosity, authenticity and determination.<\/p>\n
A six-meter wall will invite guests to leave their own messages to the Kingdom, meaning, as Sades put it, that the evening will begin with the official National Day design and end \u201cin the handwriting of the people in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
An AI-powered photography experience will offer eight settings inspired by locations across Saudi Arabia, including Diriyah, historic Jeddah and Asir, with guests receiving instant prints. Bilingual competitions and games will also allow Arabic and non-Arabic speakers to participate together.<\/p>\n
The program will feature a short film produced by student volunteers and a talent segment showcasing students who signed up to perform.<\/p>\n
A substantial volunteer effort underpins the event. At least 24 students are helping to organize the celebration, with some spending more than 12 hours a day on preparations while balancing their studies and family responsibilities. The team has also arranged to ship more than 100 kg of gifts and cultural items from Saudi Arabia, including products customized with the association\u2019s logo.<\/p>\n
The enthusiasm is evident. About 600 people registered within two days of the free tickets being released.<\/p>\n
Rawan Alajmi, the association’s vice president, said she had not felt the same emotional depth toward National Day while living in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I am involved in creating the event and planning it from scratch, so the experience has become much more meaningful and emotional,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Alajmi has worked on the association\u2019s events since joining it in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe farther people are from home, the more they recognise the value of their country, including the small things they may not notice while living there,\u201d she said. \u201cYou see the differences between Saudi Arabia and the country where you are studying, and you feel more closely connected to your culture and identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Manchester, another student group is expanding its National Day celebrations in both scale and ambition.<\/p>\n
Sattam Alqahtani, a second-year chemical engineering student at Manchester University who is sponsored by Aramco, has been elected president of the university\u2019s Saudi society.<\/p>\n
Around 70 students attended last year\u2019s National Day event. This year, the society is expecting between 250 and 350 attendees at a much larger museum-style venue on Sept. 27.<\/p>\n
The celebration has secured support from Saudi brands, including Al-Bassam and Al-Ajlan, as well as three Kuwaiti companies and a strategic partnership with a Kuwaiti event-management company.<\/p>\n
Visitors will move through a cultural exhibition featuring items brought from Saudi Arabia. The display is intended to introduce the Kingdom\u2019s history, its ongoing transformation and the ambitions of Vision 2030.<\/p>\n
Onstage activities will serve as icebreakers, helping students meet one another, while the evening will conclude with a fireworks display. Organizers are also arranging security appropriate for the larger venue and audience.<\/p>\n
The event will be open to Saudis and also to Gulf students and members of the wider community. Alqahtani said British, Turkish, and American students regularly attend the society\u2019s programs out of curiosity about Saudi culture.<\/p>\n
The society\u2019s previous Founding Day celebration attracted more than 600 students and family members, with some traveling from Edinburgh, London, and Reading. That reach, Alqahtani said, creates a responsibility to maintain the standard of the society\u2019s events from year to year.<\/p>\n
The timing is significant as National Day coincides with the opening weeks of the academic year, when first-year students are adjusting to an unfamiliar country.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany are experiencing homesickness after leaving their families and friends,\u201d Alqahtani said. \u201cWe therefore use National Day as an opportunity to welcome them, introduce them to the community, and support them as they begin the experience of studying abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not want the society simply to organize social events,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want it to be a platform that supports Saudi students academically, professionally, and socially.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Lancaster, Joud Albader is bringing her artistic background to lead the city\u2019s Saudi student society.<\/p>\n
Albader is studying drama, theater, and performance at Lancaster University, with a minor in creative writing. Lancaster\u2019s relatively small and dispersed Saudi population led her to think differently about what a student society could offer.<\/p>\n
The society\u2019s celebration, scheduled for Oct. 3 to accommodate students facing visa delays, will be structured as an artistic and historical experience.<\/p>\n
Plans include an open gallery of archival photographs illustrating the history of relations between Saudi Arabia and Britain. Materials obtained with the support of the King Fahd National Library include photographs of the founder, King Abdulaziz, and early Saudi-British encounters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to show that the relationship between the two countries stretches back many years,\u201d Albader said. \u201cIt is important for Saudi students to understand their country\u2019s history and its relationship with the foreign country in which they are studying.\u201d<\/p>\n
The society is also involving British musicians, event organizers, theater practitioners, and filmmakers from the local community. Albader has arranged a fusion Saudi-British music show featuring a British guitarist and a Saudi oud player.<\/p>\n
She said the event is intended to foster cultural exchange by bringing together the international community and Saudi students.<\/p>\n
Across the Atlantic, Hasan Radwan, a senior studying business analytics and information systems at Pennsylvania State University, is also looking forward to celebrating.<\/p>\n
He plans to wear traditional Saudi attire to the Saudi Student Association\u2019s event before heading downtown with friends, also dressed in traditional clothing, to continue the celebrations.<\/p>\n
For Radwan, National Day abroad feels both nostalgic and inspiring. It recalls celebrations at home while encouraging him to reflect on the support that made his overseas education possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat reflection rekindles my inspiration and motivation to make the most of the opportunities my nation has given me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether in Melbourne, Manchester, Lancaster, or Pennsylvania, Saudi students are finding new ways to celebrate their national identity while building bridges with the communities around them.<\/p>\n
For many, the events are not simply about looking back on the Kingdom\u2019s history, but about reflecting on the role they hope to play in its future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all here for the same purpose: to earn a degree, return home, work, and contribute to society,\u201d Albader said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Saudi Arabia, National Day is about the energy of the community, going into the streets and celebrating collectively. Abroad, it becomes an opportunity to reflect on what the country and my identity mean to me personally.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n