Inside world’s first floating theme park with THREE hotels, 11 restaurants and rollercoaster – on an old Saudi oil rig

  • Saudi Arabia is touting itself as one of the world’s leading tourist hotspots
  • The Rig is situated 25 miles off its coast, atop a decommissioned oil rig
  • It’s an adrenaline junkie’s dream destination, featuring a water park, Ferris wheel and suspended restaurant

Published on Feb 19, 2024 at 6:24 PM (UTC+4)
by Andie Reeves

Last updated on Feb 20, 2024 at 3:35 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Alessandro Renesis

The Rig is a theme park like no other, floating 25 miles away from the nearest piece of land.

This unique spot is the latest tourist hotspot to be unveiled by Saudi Arabia.

A nod to the area’s oil heritage, this theme park is built entirely on an old oil rig.

READ MORE: Saudi Arabia’s sports revolution aims to build supercity with 43 sports facilities and an F1 track

The Rig is designed for the adrenaline junkies of the world.

Visiting this one-of-a-kind destination is an adventure in itself, with thrill seekers having to access it by ferry, plane or helicopter.

The holiday spot will have more than 70 activities, spread over 74 acres.

That’s the size of about 42 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The theme of The Rig is thrilling adventure, featuring extreme sports, a flying restaurant, and a massive arena.

“This is no theme park – it’s an extreme destination, an entirely new playground for adventure tourism,” said the creators.

When built, The Rig will sit in the Arabian Gulf, atop a decommissioned oil rig.

There will be three hotels, with a total of 800 rooms.

If all goes to plan, the park will be able to host 10,000 people per day by 2032.

Visitors will be spoilt for choice when it comes to ways to get their heart rates up at The Rig.

There are ziplines, obstacle courses, rollercoasters, cable cars and more.

Even the restaurants are thrilling, with one looking more like a rollercoaster than a place to enjoy a relaxing meal.

Guests will sit suspended in the air, hundreds of feet above the water below.

There is also a pool, water park and Ferris wheel.

For those who are a bit more faint of heart, there are cinemas and a retail park too.

This project is part of Saudi Arabia’s bid to both increase tourism and reduce reliance on the oil industry.

A skyscraper as tall as the Eiffel Tower that overlooks an artificial lake is currently in the works.

Then there’s The Line, the $1 trillion project that’s essentially a horizontal 105-mile-long skyscraper.

The Rig aims to repurpose old oil rigs to create tourist attractions that are both exhilarating and sustainable.

# Tags - Lifestyle, Travel


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Andie Reeves

Andie is a content writer from South Africa with a background in broadcasting and journalism. Starting her career in the glossy pages of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire, Andie has a broad portfolio, covering everything from sustainability solutions to celebrity car collections. When not at her laptop Andie can be found sewing, recording her podcast, taking board games too seriously or road-tripping in her bright green Kia.