Saudi Arabia is ready to develop into residence to the first-ever Dragon Ball Z theme park — a 5.3 million sq. foot leisure venue introduced as a part of the dominion’s enormous Qiddiya challenge.

The most recent vacationer attraction introduced by the dominion will characteristic seven completely different areas recreating places from the unique Japanese anime tv collection, greater than 30 themed rides, and quite a lot of accommodations and eating places, in keeping with the press launch.

5 of the rides on the Dragon Ball Z theme park will probably be “world firsts,” in keeping with the discharge, considered one of which will probably be a 230-foot-high curler coaster referred to as Shenron, named after the collection’ magical dragon.

Video video games and the favored Japanese style of anime have develop into targets for important funding from the dominion — Japan-based manga producer Toei Animation (producers of
Dragon Ball Z) and MiSK, a basis of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are additionally collaborating to create anime films. Saudi’s Public Funding Fund (PIF) can also be the third-largest shareholder of Japanese online game big Nintendo.

Qiddiya itself — a deliberate multibillion-dollar “metropolis” in Riyadh — is a large plot of desert about 28 miles, or a 40-minute drive, outdoors the capital Riyadh.

Its planners say it is going to be greater than 360 sq. kilometers (or round 140 sq. miles) in measurement and may have greater than 400 particular sights together with golf programs, theme parks and accommodations. It is also set to have a Six Flags and a waterpark.

A challenge of the Saudi’s PIF, which oversees $925 billion in belongings, Qiddiya Metropolis goals to develop into residence to 600,000 residents, in addition to host tens of millions of holiday makers yearly. The fund has poured billions of {dollars} over the previous couple of years into sports activities, music occasions, e-gaming and cultural sights in a bid to show the dominion right into a vacationer hub and diversify its financial system away from reliance on oil.

Imaginative and prescient 2030, the identify of this challenge, a brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has additionally set a goal of 150 million vacationers visiting the dominion yearly by 2030. Tourism reached a document for the nation in 2023 at 106 million, in keeping with its tourism ministry — a rise of 56% from 2019.