MR BEAST has opened up his own mega theme park in Saudi Arabia in the latest desperate tourism push for the controversial kingdom.
The world’s biggest YouTuber, 27, says he has opened up Beast Land in the oil and blood-drenched nation because he has a big “Middle Eastern fanbase”.
It all comes as Saudi Arabia continues to hold a dark and documented history of human rights violations including the curtailing of free speech and homosexuality still being illegal.
But Mr Beast – real name Jimmy Donaldson – arrived in Riyadh announcing: “It’s probably one of the best days of life.”
Donaldson says that the park is a great idea because most of his millions of fans are from outside the United States.
He claimed that Saudi Arabia offered accessible studio space for filming upcoming videos and gives his viewers a chance to feel like they are taking part in a video.
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Beast Land – a park designed around the elaborate challenge videos that made him famous – features rollercoasters and American-Gladiator style challenges.
One attraction, “Tower Siege,” has visitors firing balls from catapults into towering 18-metre tubes.
Mr Beast said: “One of the top requests I get is: I want to be in a MrBeast video.
“So now (we are) creating that in real life where you guys can come visit it and experience what it is like.”
The park arrives as part of Saudi Arabia’s decade-long push to transform its global image.
Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, the kingdom has tried to diversify away from oil – its main export.
In 2025, it currently hovers at around $60 a barrel, having not touched triple-digit prices for three years.
Once a place where cinemas and concerts were banned, Saudi Arabia is rapidly reshaping its cultural landscape.
Riyadh Season now fills the capital with concerts, sports competitions, and nightlife events.
This forms part of a broader strategy of attracting tourism, technology, and entertainment investment.
Saudi Arabia’s entertainment expansion accompanies massive infrastructure ambitions.
Earlier this year, it announced plans for the world’s biggest airport by 2030, capable of welcoming up to 185 million passengers annually.
The 22-square-mile site – roughly the size of Manhattan – will include six runways and be built around the existing King Khalid International Airport.
And the kingdom is still attempting to finish off its grand NEOM project despite years of setbacks.
NEOM was announced as part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s Project 2030 in 2017.
It came as part of a major push to wean the oil-rich nation’s economy off its reliance on fossil fuels.
It is expected to include attractions such as The Line, Oxagon, Trojena, Sindalah and the Gulf of Aqaba Projects.
Yet human rights abuses and brutal conditions for workers looming over NEOM.
As many as 21,000 are reported to have died during construction, but Saudi authorities have disputed this figure.
Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea previously told the Sun: “Unfortunately migrant workers in Saudi Arabia continue to face widespread abuses, some of which may amount to situations of forced labour, including at high profile gigaprojects.”
Saudi Arabia is also still attempting to overcome its dark past when it comes to sports.
Amnesty International said awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia “represents a moment of great danger for human rights”.
Critics argue these entertainment projects seeks to gloss over well-documented human-rights abuses, the repression of dissent, and ongoing violent crackdowns.
“I’d say give it a try, it’s more developed than you’d think,” Donaldson said.
