Hartwig Fischer, ex-director of the British Museum, has been named as the founding director of Saudi Arabia’s new Museum of World Cultures, which will open in Riyadh in 2026.

The Museum of World Cultures will focus not only on Saudi Arabian cultural heritage but that of all five major continents across the globe. It will fill a new 360-feet high building designed by the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, which will be part of the Royal Arts Complex in Riyadh’s King Salman Park.