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Decentraland Just Hosted The UAE’s First Metaverse Wedding

After the online ceremony, the couple held a metaverse afterparty where they interacted with those who joined and partied for hours.

Published

3 years ago

May 19, 2022

David Morelo

decentraland just hosted the uae's first metaverse wedding

When two people from different parts of the world decide to get married, they face many difficult challenges, and one of them is figuring out the logistics of getting their family and friends to attend the ceremony.

After all, plane tickets are not cheap, and not everyone is healthy enough to travel thousands of miles. Florian Ughetto and Liz Nunez, the owners of Easy Wedding Georgia, have come up with a truly cutting-edge solution: they decided to get married in the metaverse.

More specifically, the couple walked down the aisle in their own private Decentraland plot on May 19, accompanied by close family, friends, and select guests.

“We dreamt of flying in our family and friends from France and Paraguay to Dubai to attend our wedding. However, Covid and legal hurdles played spoilsport. That is when we decided to take things to the metaverse,” said Florian Ughetto.

During the wedding, their avatars were dressed in a black and brown suit and a white dress, both of which were purchased on OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace. As they exchanged their vows and said, “I do,” their guests were enjoying the ceremony from the comfort of their own homes using laptops and smartphones.

After the online ceremony, the couple held a metaverse afterparty where they interacted with those who joined and partied for hours.

Also Read: A Beginner’s Guide To Getting Started With NFTs

The biggest challenge Florian Ughetto and Liz Nunez faced when organizing the metaverse wedding was ensuring that everyone had a stable connection to the internet. To be extra safe, they had recorded backups of their vows at hand, but, fortunately, they were not needed.

The fact that people are already getting married in the metaverse even though the new iteration of the internet is still in its infancy goes to show just how huge its potential is, and it will be interesting to see what its impact on our lives will be a few years from now.

Related Topics:Metaverse NFTs United Arab Emirates

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Saudi EV Adoption Accelerates With BYD Expansion & Tesla Launch

Saudi Arabia’s EV market is gaining momentum as BYD plans major showroom growth and Tesla establishes a foothold in Riyadh.

Published

2 days ago

July 16, 2025

Nour Nasir

saudi ev adoption accelerates with byd expansion and tesla launch

Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to become a regional hub for electric mobility are drawing greater investment from global automakers. As part of Vision 2030, the Kingdom is targeting 30% electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the capital, Riyadh, by the end of the decade — an objective that’s now shaping the strategic interests of international EV brands.

Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning a substantial thrust into the Saudi market, building on its current footprint of three showrooms. According to Jerome Saigot, BYD’s managing director in the Kingdom, the company aims to open 10 showrooms by the end of 2026.

“Saudi Arabia is a complex market. You need to go fast. You need to think big,” Saigot recently told reporters. “We are not here to stay at 5,000 or 10,000 cars a year”.

The announcement follows Tesla’s entry into the Saudi EV space, with the US automaker opening its first showroom in Riyadh in April. Tesla joins early players like BYD and Geely in what remains a nascent but strategically important segment for the Kingdom.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also ramped up its electric mobility agenda. Its efforts include major investments in Lucid Motors, the creation of local EV brand Ceer, and support for the rollout of national charging infrastructure.

Also Read: Twitch Launches Arabic Right-To-Left Interface For Web & Mobile

However, electric vehicles still only account for just over 1% of total car sales in Saudi Arabia, according to data from PwC cited by Bloomberg. Key challenges include high upfront costs, limited public charging access, and the added complexity of operating in extreme heat conditions.

In spite of those hurdles, Saigot views Tesla’s entry as a net positive. “The more Tesla communicates on marketing, the better it is for us,” he said. Saigot joined BYD in April, having previously held executive roles at Nissan and Great Wall Motor.

With multiple brands scaling up activity in parallel — and government-backed infrastructure investment underway — Saudi Arabia’s EV sector appears set for rapid acceleration over the next few years.