First YouTube Fan Event in the Arab World

More than 2000 fans of YouTube in Dubai joined in Za'abeel park yesterday to meet with their favorite stars on the global video platform. These stars are content creators that have a channel or show in gaming, comedy, beauty or fashion. Most of these YouTube presenters have had their show for at least a year and garner hundreds of thousands of subscribers and millions of views. 

From Saudi, creators present were Abdulaziz Bakr and Abdulllah Bakr from The Saudi Reporters, Fahad Sal, Mahmoud Ramadan, MoutazimTarabzouni and Darin Mobayed from Ana WaHeya, a show that produces parody sketches about modern society in Saudi. Saudi Arabia has the highest number of content creators on YouTube today,

From the UAE, there were The Real Bin Bazz who has more than 14 million views on his channel and Al Anoud Badr, Lady Fozaza.

The Middle East region comes in second after the U.S in terms of watchtime on YouTube. Saudi Arabia has the highest number of views on YouTube coming from mobile (65%), more than the global average which is 55%. (UAE is at 55%)

Diana Baddar, Head of YouTube partnerships for YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa region, said: “We are trying to showcase the popularity of these creators, and have them interact with the community.  These creators are stars in their categories and are looking forward to meeting with their fans.  We also want the fans to know how much these YouTubers appreciate all the support they receive.  For us at YouTube, it's about bringing together everyone that has helped make YouTube successful in the region.”

Baddar added: “YouTube has been very successful in MENA as a whole, and particularly in the GCC.  We continue to see creators rise up and this movement is creating even more Arabic content, which we are extremely happy to support.  We are extremely proud of the local talents we have in the region, and we see them as a voice for this generation of users.”

The YouTube Partner Program lets creators monetize content on YouTube through advertising. Any channel may be eligible to join YouTube Partner Program if it meets criteria like program is already launched in the users’ country, the account is in good standing, quality of content is advertiser-friendly and complies with theCommunity Guidelines of YouTube. 

YouTube creator awards were also given at the YouTubefanfest. The YouTube channels of  Ifta7 yaSimsim and Gawareerreceived a silver button for their first 100,000 subscribers.  Sa7i and MrMrSNB2 received the gold button for their first million subscribers.