Monster Jam breaks new grounds with events in Saudi Arabia and Argentina

Feld Entertainment is taking Monster Jam in new territories this year. The event was showcased for the first time in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) in March and made its debut in Argentina (Buenos Aires) earlier this month. Monster Jam is also poised to break ground with its first engagements in China (Beijing) and Brazil (Sao Paulo) later this year.

On March 18, a Friday (that’s a weekend in Saudi Arabia), Monster Jam opened its two-night show at the King Fahd International Stadium with much fanfare. According to local media reports, the event lived up to its hype with over 30,000 spectators crowding the stadium on the inaugural day.

“Monster Jam is internationally known for playing the world’s best stadiums” notes Juliette Feld, chief operating officer for Feld Entertainment told the media. “In Saudi Arabia we were honoured to be the first family show to perform at the King Fahd International Stadium and offer the people of Saudi the same excitement and entertainment our fans have come to know and love the world over.”

The Monster Jam was backed by the Saudi government as part of its aggressive push to bring quality entertainment acts from Western countries to the Gulf kingdom.

Speaking to Arab News, Abdulrauf Al-Baijan, executive managing director of Global Sports Gate, said 30,000 tickets had been sold for opening night for the fans to watch the legendary drivers in 4-meter-tall, 5-ton Monster Jam trucks perform stunts.

Built for short, high-powered bursts of speed, the vehicles generate 1,500 to 2,000 horsepower and can reach up to 100 miles per hour. Monster Jam trucks can fly across 130 feet, a distance greater than 14 cars side by side, and up to 35 feet in the air.

The trucks, which loomed like monsters out of a Transformers movie, were emblazoned with names like Mohawk Warrior, Blue Thunder, Hot Wheels and Superman, among others and did not fail to impress the crowd.

Spectators reacted with excitement over the antics of the vehicles as well as the motorcyclists who displayed dazzling acrobatic skills, inevitably evoking a mixture of fear and excitement among the adoring crowd.

The stentorian voice of the announcer – Turki Binmusaibih – punctuated the entertainment as he described developments inside the stadium with the noise of the Monster Jam trucks as a backdrop.

The success of the Riyadh event meant that Feld Entertainment is already planning Monster Jam’s next schedule in Saudi Arabia, with new cities being added to the list.

Two months later on May 14 and 15, Estadio Ciudad de La Plata on the outskirts of Buenos Aires witnessed a similar frenzy among fans for Monster Jam’s debut event in Argentina. On both days, over 50,000 people thronged the stadium, popularly known as the Estadio Único, to watch the high-power action-packed show involving monster trucks.

The spectators cheered as they saw some of the most famous pickup trucks such as “Grave Digger”, “Max D” and “Pirates Curse” as well as the beloved character of kids and big “Scooby-Doo” From the Latin American audience “El Toro Loco”, “Monster Mutt” and “Zombie”.

In the show there were moments of high impact: explosions, jumps and boundary falls. Also thousands of fans had the opportunity to meet the pilots, take pictures with them and appreciate the immense dimensions of the Monster Trucks up close.

“Adrenaline was the rule on a weekend full of excitement. Monster Jam roared to Buenos Aires and gave a spectacular show of international quality that will resonate in the minds of all the spectators,” wrote infobae.com.

With two great successful debut events in two different parts of the world, the wheels of Monster Jam is now set to explore new territories.

As a long-standing partner of Coliseum, Feld Entertainment will participate at the next Coliseum Summit ASIA-PACIFIC, October 25-26, 2017 in Beijing, China.

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