MrBeast, the world’s most followed YouTuber with more than 450 million subscribers, this Thursday opened a pop-up amusement park in Saudi Arabia inspired by his successful videos, a new sign of the kingdom’s taste for entertainment.
Named Beast Land, the park will welcome the public from November 13 to December 27 as part of the “Riyadh Season”, a major annual festival launched to promote the Saudi capital as a tourist hub.
“The majority of our viewers are outside North America, with a high concentration of viewers in the Middle East (…),” explained the YouTuber from Riyadh.
“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done, I can’t wait for you to experience this,” said the influencer in a video recorded in front of the park gate.
A victory that must be won
Behind him, a giant blue beast head is decorated with purple lightning, reminiscent of his famous logo.
The animal’s open mouth serves as a pathway to a park with a light show and giant screen inspired by a spectacular challenge with prizes, using a code popularized on its YouTube channel.
With over 75% of Saudi citizens under the age of 35, Saudi Arabia is known as a country with a highly connected young generation.
The country’s smartphone penetration rate stands at 98.2%, well above the global average, while internet penetration stands at 97.9%, according to PwC, which says Saudi Arabia is one of the “world’s largest consumers of media.”
A digital empire
Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast’s real name), 27 years old, has built a veritable digital empire through his company Beast Industries.
Named in 2023 by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world, MrBeast is estimated to be worth around half a billion dollars, according to Forbes estimates that same year.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has increasingly stepped up its partnerships with global entertainment figures, from Will Smith to Cristiano Ronaldo and Jennifer Lopez.
This new collaboration is part of the world’s leading oil exporter’s economic diversification strategy led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The main figure in this investment is the Qiddiya theme park, which will be built on 500,000 m2 near the capital and is expected to open in 2026.
