Mr Beast, the most popular YouTuber in the world, has become latest celebrity brought to Saudi Arabia as part of the kingdom’s push to become a global entertainment destination.
The online sensation hit 100 billion views this month and is in Riyadh to launch Beast Land, a theme park modelled on his videos that put people through elaborate endurance challenges to win large cash prizes.
“It’s probably one of the best days of my life,” the 27-year-old, whose real name is James Donaldson, told Reuters ahead of the launch on Thursday (November 13), in one of at least nine interviews conducted as part of his Saudi PR blitz.
Lit up in neon-blue, Beast Land combines theme park attractions like rollercoasters with Donaldson’s American Gladiator-style challenges, such as a game where the last player to slap a button when it lights up falls to cushioned doom.
Donaldson says 70% of his fans are outside the US and Saudi Arabia was also a natural choice due to easily accessible studio space to film his latest season of videos.
The kingdom has been known to attract international talent with massive compensation: Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr is estimated to be worth more than $200 million.
MrBeast has at times stirred controversy, with Mexico in May filing suit against a firm they say worked with him after he produced a video at the nation’s ancient Maya pyramids.
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