Pictures reveal scale of world’s first floating theme park on Saudi oil rig
- The sheer scale of this epic project, with costs exceeding $5 billion, defies belief
- It is currently under construction off the coast of Saudi Arabia on a former oil rig
- Set to host 900,000 annually by 2032, it’s not something you’ll want to miss
Published on Apr 15, 2024 at 6:02 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Apr 16, 2024 at 12:23 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A new glimpse of The Rig, the world’s first floating theme park off the coast of Saudi Arabia, has revealed more about its true scale.
Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as one of the world’s leading tourist hotspots – and The Rig is the next step in that journey.
Sitting 25 miles off the coast, near Al Juraid Island and the Berri oilfield, it’s located atop a decommissioned oil rig.
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An adrenaline junkie’s dream destination, its website denies that this is a theme park at all.
“It’s an extreme destination, an entirely new playground for adventure tourism. The true scale of adventure,” states the website.
The Rig will feature a water park, a Ferris wheel, an awe-inspiring suspended restaurant, and one of the biggest rollercoasters in the world.
Alongside this will sit a sizable adventure and extreme sports park, theater, multifunctional arena, diving facility, e-sports center, and a range of aquatic activities.
But it’s the sheer scale of the $5 billion (plus) project – first announced in 2021 – that will take your breath away.
Covering a mammoth 1.6 million square feet of space, it will feature three hotels with 800 rooms, 11 restaurants, and 70 different activities over 74 acres (the size of about 42 Olympic-sized swimming pools).
It will host an estimated 10,000 guests per day by 2032 via a marina with room for 50 boats including ferries and cruise ships, and one helipad.
From jet skiing and go-karting to bungee jumping, skydiving, and zip-lining – and even submarine rides, there’s something for everyone.
The quirky tourism hotspot is being funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to ‘celebrate the legacy and heritage of Saudi Arabia’s long oil and gas history’.
Form and function are balanced with aesthetics that reflect that theme.
Development is already well underway under Saudi Arabia’s Oil Park Development Company (OPDC) and its CEO, Raed N. Bakhrji.
“The Rig draws its inspiration from Vision 2030 and its initiatives to develop the tourism sector, and it is expected to be one of the leading adventure tourism destinations aiming to attract more than 900,000 visitors annually by 2032,” he said.
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 too.
Then there’s The Line, the $1 trillion project that’s essentially a horizontal 105-mile-long skyscraper.
A supercity, named the Qiddiya project, is hoped to become the world’s largest tourist destination.
It will feature 43 sports facilities, an F1 track, and 12 theme parks.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
