The inaugural ‘Dragon Ball’ theme park is about to be inaugurated in Saudi Arabia. This move is a major stride in Saudi Arabia’s endeavor to draw in more tourists. This site, teeming with more than 30 exhilarating rides, and a giant 70m dragon captivating the scene, presents an awe-inspiring spectacle.
However, the excitement generated by the park, which is centered around the comic series, has been stymied by criticism of the country’s harsh regime. Saudi Arabia’s egregious human rights record has turned the unveiling of this ambitious project into a controversial event.
The Dragon Ball park, a first of its kind, is based on the widely loved Japanese media franchise, Dragon Ball. Spanning more than half a million square metres, this park is an initiative of the Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), a Saudi Arabian government-owned investment fund.
The venture is a part of a planned long-term alliance between the QIC and Toei Animation, the Japanese organization behind Dragon Ball. One of the park’s main attractions is a roller coaster, a replica of Shenron, the wish-granting dragon from the series, which will give the thrill seekers an immersive experience.
The visitors will be offered an exploratory journey through seven differently themed zones. Each zone, inspired by the legendary Dragon Balls, will take the visitors into the epicenter of the anime action. They will also get a chance to delve themselves into interactive landmarks, like “Kame House, Capsule Corporation and Beerus’ Planet,” from the Dragon Ball series.
Qiddiya is a major Fortune 500 entertainment and tourism enterprise being developed on the outskirts of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. As part of Saudi’s campaign to create a more eco-friendly nation and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, Qiddiya becomes an important project.
While some Dragon Ball enthusiasts are enthusiastic about the proposed amusement park, others have expressed concern about its positioning in Saudi Arabia. The skeptics question Saudi Arabia’s ability to morph into a universal tourist destination due to “severe encroachments on personal freedom”.
The announcement of the Dragon Ball park was made soon after the demise of the Dragon Ball’s creator, Akira Toriyama. Toriyama passed away at the age of 68 on March 1, with only his family and a few close acquaintances attending his funeral.
This ambitious project is part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to expend billions in a bid to attract a larger tourist influx. The nation harbors the goal to host 150 million tourists by 2030 to diversify Saudi’s economy and reduce reliance on its core sector, oil.
Saudi Arabia has managed to secure $13 billion from the private sector towards its tourism industry. But the shiny exterior of this sector manages to hide a grim reality. Stories of threats, displacements, and bloodshed lurk beneath the surface.
Several initiatives have faced severe backlash due to allegations of human rights violations. Notably, the $500 billion ‘Neom’ project has come under fire where tribes were evicted from their homeland, thrown into prison, or even executed. An estimated 20,000 members of the Huwaitat tribe face looming eviction, with minimal information about their future accommodation.
In the port city of Jeddah there have been multiple house demolitions to give way to Saudi’s development plans, with many residents evicted illegally. A human rights activist claimed “Neom is built on Saudi blood”.
Saudi Arabia’s harsh regime has famously targeted individuals exercising their freedom of expression and handed harsh prison sentences after largely unfair trials. The nation is infamous for having “deplorable” human rights. Critics of the government often find themselves jailed or living in exile.
The Saudi state has repeatedly come under fire following the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate, Istanbul, in 2018.
A collection of Middle Eastern countries have been accused of investing heavily in premier league football as a strategic move to bolster favorability. They hope the popularity of football will eclipse the countries’ sordid reputation.
F1 racer, Lewis Hamilton, has voiced his concerns about the dreadful state of human rights in Saudi Arabia. “It is mindblowing to hear the stories, I’ve heard about a 14-year-old on death row. At 14, you barely know your way around life,” he said.
