Loading ...A Young Member of Qatar Royal Family Rose Ten Million Fans on Chinese TikTok in Three Days
By: Jenny Lyu / Arab America Contributing Writer
At the start of the World Cup, Qatar became the first host nation in soccer history to lose the tournament’s opening game. But that is okay. The World cup brings up different topics for Qatar, a tiny Gulf nation with little footballing history, to let the world see this Arab country for the very first time. 15-year-old Qatari Prince Fahad bin Jassim bin Hamad Althani has accidentally become a hit in China. What makes Fahad gain millions of fans overnight in a different country?
Qatar’s FIFA World Cup mascot La’eeb
As the official mascot for the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab World, La’eeb is full of energy and brings the joy of football to everyone. “We are sure fans everywhere will love this fun and playful character. La’eeb will play a vital role as we engage fans young and old in Qatar’s FIFA World Cup experience,” said Al Mawlawi. A gutra (a cloth headdress worn in Qatar) La’eeb wearing meant to be figment of someone’s imagination. So, for Chinese audiences, the appearance of La’eeb is more like dumpling wrappers, white, soft, and plump. And then they associate friendly and cute with the Arab world.
When Chinese fans saw the little prince Fahad dressed in traditional Arabian costume, stand up agitatedly after seeing the home team concede a goal staring blankly, expressing his helplessness and annoyance. They fleshed out this cartoon image to Fahad. There are words about La’eeb and the little prince, as well as second creations that have taken the internet by storm. When the helpless Qatari prince and La’eeb’s identical expressions were quickly turned into emoji packs and spread across the internet, Chinese netizens quipped, “Money is not everything.” Thus, as a specific image of La’eeb, the little prince has become a symbol of people’s emotional aspirations and cultural identities, such as most people’s fantasy of an Arab country, money, male power, and white robes.
Invitations from Chinese social media platforms
From match live GIFs to “dumpling-skin” emojis, the Qatari prince has become an alternative traffic code for major platforms during the World Cup. The most prominent is the official Fahad account in the Chinese TikTok. The team made the cartoon version of the “dumpling skin” as an avatar, and the username is “Royal Dumplings.” All highlight the World Cup, La’eeb, and the natural aura of the Qatari royal family, which became the World Cup During the “traffic play.”
Chinese media said of the young prince, “In the ebb and flow of the Internet, will the Qatari prince end up as a “flash in the pan” new top streamer or an overseas celebrity always influential and topical on major platforms?” The young prince’s account in Chinese TikTok started with the World Cup. To maintain the heat, new content must be constantly produced. Currently, the young prince has released seven pieces of content all geared towards Chinese netizens, including the official announcement of his flushed, “Breaking 10 Million Fans” benefits, World Cup dumpling special effects interaction, sending his first autograph to Chinese fans, interacting with pandas, predicting the World Cup winner and meeting with the Chinese ambassador in Qatar. Each video had over one million likes and over 50,000 comments. In the comment section, Chinese netizens enthusiastically introduced China’s local characteristics.
In addition, traffic represents business opportunities, and many brands have opened their hands to the account and talked about cooperation in the comment section. Whether they are out to get a lively crowd for eyeballs or are genuinely interested in collaboration, they are making the World Cup conversation expand more into humanistic communication. The Chinese ambassador to Qatar said that the excellent interaction between the Qatari prince and Chinese fans had enhanced the friendship between the two countries. The young Qatari prince, dressed in his native costume, became a link for the public to understand the country of Qatar. People who knew and were familiar with him began to learn about the culture of the Middle Eastern country’s costumes, economic situation, and lifestyle, which broadened their horizons and increased their knowledge.
Overseas stars are now viral on Chinese platforms, and many have also launched a “cross-sea plan” to support abroad stars. Whenever an overseas star is stationed on social media platforms, it will create a short-term surge online, but after a long time, the volume will be small and even stop. And the little prince’s platform lasted updated content a week ago. It is clear that cross-cultural communication requires more effort from celebrities and media, and there is still a lot of space to explore. To ensure that after the end of the World Cup, the little prince can still serve as a bridge for cultural exchange and deepening friendship between the two countries, seeking joint development.
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