GCC marketing calendar
Ramadan and Eid, every Gulf national day, White Friday, Dubai Shopping Festival and the rest of the year’s big moments, with what each one means for a campaign. Filter by country and add it to your own calendar.
Every dated moment for the GCC, 2026 and 2027, as a .ics file for Google, Apple or Outlook. Subscribing keeps it up to date as expected dates 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.
Plan the year around the moments that move people
Gulf marketing runs on a calendar the rest of the world does not share. Ramadan moves eleven days earlier every year, national days differ from country to country, and the biggest sale weekend has its own local names. Having them in one place, with what each one asks of a campaign, is most of the planning.
- Ramadan and Eid: book creators and media a month ahead, and shift posting to the evenings. The best time to post tool has the Ramadan hours.
- National days: each country’s biggest moment, with its own colours and rules on how the flag and emblem may be used.
- Sale moments: White Friday, 11.11 and the Dubai Shopping Festival, when ad costs climb and planning early pays.
- Culture: Diwali, Lunar New Year and Christmas, big for the Gulf’s many communities.
Expected, not guessed
Islamic dates follow the moon, so every one is labelled as expected and confirmed shortly before. Seasons announced each year are shown as the months they usually fall in, never as a made-up date.
Where this fits in the work
A calendar tells you when. Wiro runs the what: content calendars and a scheduler per client, campaign boards, and influencer and PR reporting for every one of these moments.
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Best time to post in the Gulf
Posting windows for six Gulf countries and four platforms, for normal weeks and Ramadan.
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Try it freeCommon questions
How sure are the Ramadan and Eid dates?
They are the dates expected from the astronomical calendar Saudi Arabia uses, Umm al-Qura. Each month is confirmed by moon sighting shortly before it begins, and a date can move by a day. The calendar labels every one of them as expected, and if you subscribe, your calendar picks up any change.
Why do some entries say usually rather than a date?
Because their dates change every year and are announced by the organisers: the Dubai Shopping Festival, Riyadh Season, GITEX and the start of the school year. Guessing a date would put a wrong one in your calendar, so they are shown as the months they usually fall in and left out of the calendar file.
Are public holidays included?
The moments behind them are, from Eid to each country's national day. How many days off each one brings is announced by each government, sometimes only a few days before, so the calendar marks the day itself rather than a holiday length.
How do I add it to my calendar?
Download it as a .ics file, which Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook all open, or subscribe to it so it stays up to date. You can also add any single moment to Google Calendar from its own row. Pick a country first to get only its dates.
Which countries does it cover?
The six GCC countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Shared moments such as Ramadan and White Friday appear under every country; national days only under their own.