YouTube superstar MrBeast opens pop-up park in Saudi

AFP | Riyadh

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MrBeast, the world’s most followed YouTuber with over 450 million subscribers, opened a temporary amusement park in Riyadh yesterday, the latest celebrity drawn to Saudi Arabia as it aspires to become a major entertainment hub.

“Beast Land”, open from November 13 to December 27, features several obstacle courselike challenges similar to those that appear in his popular videos where contestants compete for massive pay days.

MrBeast’s park will be part of Riyadh Season, a major annual festival launched to promote the capital city as a tourist hub, as Saudi Arabia seeks to attract high-profile celebrities to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

“The majority of our audience is outside of North America and we have a large concentration of people who watch our videos in the Middle East,” he told AFP in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

“A lot of times when we do stuff, we do it in the West or in other places and I just really wanted to do something fun for our fans who live around here,” he added. The influencer had earlier posted a video from the gates of the new park in Riyadh, shaped like a blue tiger’s head with flashing lightning bolts for eyes, reminiscent of his logo, with neon lights beaming on the attractions. “This thing is the craziest thing that I’ve ever done, I can’t wait for you guys to experience this,” he said in the clip.

With more followers across his social media platforms than there are people in the United States, the 27-year-old influencer, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson -- has built a digital empire over the years thanks to his prodigious output of content often featuring contests and challenges.