BY IRINA PEREDERKO
Three days of music, arts and culture in an electronic festival that brought together the world’s best DJs and performers in a place one thought will never make it happen. MDL Beast has come to
the Middle East! And it broke records in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Lately, Saudi Arabia is making waves by the changes happening in the Kingdom in line with its Vision 2030. They have opened a lot of doors to welcome, not only foreigners, but also locals to get to know more about the Kingdom through various events and activities. One of which is the Riyadh Season that saw the opening of 12 different zones catering to various tastes and interests. Concerts have been one of the highlights of the season and one of them, the biggest of them all, is the MDL Beast.
The MDL Beast Festival was an exceptional event which put Saudi Arabia in the spotlight. The historical event brought international superstars, artists, performers, models and actors in the Kingdom, showing them the Saudi’s hospitality and generosity. The music festival featured five stages: the Big Beast, awarded the Guinness World of Record’s tallest temporary stage, had a capacity of 45,000 and hosted the festival’s headliners; the Saudi Beast had a 2,000 capacity and saw the best local and regional Saudi talents; the Underground Beast 1 and 2 featured the best international and local acts playing a combination of house and techno sets, and the Down Beast has a 5,000 capacity that featured artists and their melodical and tribal sets.
The festival attracted half a million attendees in its 3-night run from December 19-21, 2019. It featured crowd favorites like David Guetta, Steve Aoki, J Balvin, Tiesto, and more, as well as local stars Dish Dash and DJ Cosmicat. David Guetta, who played at the Big Beast, said “it really means the world to me to be here in Saudi Arabia; it feels like writing history”. The performers’ passion was appreciated by the crowd that exceeded the numbers of world-known music festivals like Belgium’s Tomorrowland and California’s Coachella.
Apart from the music field, MDL Beast also had five districts including the Art Beast with multiple impressive performances; MDL Town which offered food and drinks; and Retail Therapy that hosted unique stores and popular establishments. The festival offered plenty of shows that saw fire performers, acrobats and aerialists skillfully performing for the crowd. The MDL Beast XP Recording Studio lets visitors experience music technologies and express their creativity.
Ticket prices vary: from SR 150 up to a whopping SR 11,400 for 1-day to 3-day passes. Lounges for the Very Important Beast (VIBs) were also a sight to see. The exclusive Beast Box lounge had the best view in a large private terrace with dedicated services including private butler, special menus, and a team of waiters. Having a coveted VIP ticket gave me the chance to witness MDL Beast on my own; I was impressed with its scale and the multitude of entertainment and fun activities open to everyone.
The experience is boundless! It was truly a feast for the senses.
