On Tuesday May 19, YouTube hosted a virtual Iftar in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with six of the Arab world's most loved YouTube creators — Mohamed Moshaya, Noor Stars, The Saudi Reporters, Anasala Family, Asrar Aref, and Omar Hussein. These creators broke their fast together from their homes, allowing friends, family and fans to connect online while adhering to social distancing restrictions due to COVID-19. Post livestream, this event has been viewed over three million times. Head of YouTube Partnerships in MENA Diana Baddar said "For years, YouTube creators in Saudi Arabia have built communities that have helped millions of viewers throughout the Kingdom, laugh, learn, and even create. We are delighted to collaborate with the Arab world's most loved creators to live stream the virtual Iftar. And I am proud to see them come together to create this memorable experience on YouTube that shows the platform's power in bringing people together during this difficult time." Shaddy Gaad, senior marketing manager, Guinness World Records said: "We extend our sincere congratulations to YouTube's creators community in Saudi Arabia on their achievement. Their will to spread the word through a world-record attempt paid off, where thousands of people watched the attempt online, while many others heard the news in regional media. "It is now important, perhaps during these difficult times more than ever, to connect with communities digitally. By hosting a record attempt online, the participating YouTubers opened up a world of possibilities to connect and break their fast with fans all over the globe while remaining safe at home." Mohamed Moshaya, Saudi YouTube creator, said ""Ramadan is usually a time where friends and family gather in mosques and homes to break the fast and pray together. However with this global pandemic, Ramadan this year feels very different, which is why I decided to enlist a couple of my friends in the YouTube community to come together and turn this moment of isolation into celebration." "The livestream was truly amazing and it was moving to see so many in our communities participate. It was such a proud moment when Guinness World Records said we set a new title with over 182,000 concurrent viewers," said Moshaya. The Saudi Reporters said, "YouTube has always supported us creators and instilled the sense of togetherness in us, and we are very excited about being part of an attempt to break the world record for the largest virtual iftar! "As The Saudi Reporters we always love to make history and reach impossible goals, so we are very excited and honored to be a part of this experience. And as content creators and YouTubers we love entertaining people, and especially in these difficult times we feel it's our duty to do whatever we can to help people get through this pandemic even with something as small as drawing a smile on people's faces." Anasala Family said, "Every year for Ramadan we try to go above and beyond to connect with our family and friends. This Ramadan we especially need to be creative and active in keeping that tradition alive. We are excited to join the YouTube community coming together. This makes us proud." In its statement, Noor Stars said, "This year, Ramadan is different. COVID-19 changed our life forever. We missed our Iftar gatherings, the family reunions, and the daily visits. For me Ramadan is in our hearts, and despite everything we are still able to reach each other. "And yesterday, with the help of my beloved YouTuber friends, we were able to come together and through the magic of the Internet we were able to break fast online and create amazing memories with viewers from all over the world. I want to thank every single person who was part of this, together we made history." And Omar Hussein rounded off stating, "Ramadan is all about connection with others and ourselves. The new "quarantine lifestyle" gave us the impression that we won't or cannot connect. But this isn't entirely true, and we want to show that to our communities. We are attempting to host the largest livestream event and share how even from distance we can still be close, have fun and reflect on the many blessings we have." — SG
