An efficient domino protocol has been developed for the synthesis of symmetrical diarylalkynes. Notably, the method was successful in the presence of a palladium catalyst without the support of a copper co-catalyst. Significantly, the method enabled the use of the commercially available and cheap lithium acetylide ethylenediamine complex as a source of acetylene for the construction of dual C-C bonds, with a wide range of compatibility towards various substituents of the aryl bromides/iodides. Significantly, this protocol was successfully applied to the synthesis of cis- and trans-alkenes in a highly stereoselective manner in a sequential one-pot process. © 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.