300 million soums in cash, a chapan with his logo and the Lamborghini that 'didn't crash': behind the scenes of MrBeast's days in Uzbekistan

MrBeast's first stop in Central Asia was Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital, on Thursday (9). The fan meet was organized by the country's Art and Culture Development Foundation together with the Tourism Committee: applicants filled out a form, were picked at random and received personalized QR codes to get in. On stage there were challenges, quizzes and logic puzzles, and three participants walked away with 100 million soums each, 300 million in total, in cash. Everyone else got gift sets with tote bags, notebooks, bracelets and stickers, and a cart handed out Feastables, the YouTuber's chocolate brand.

The visit also brought gifts and some confusion. A local artist gave the team a painting of its members dressed in chapans, the traditional Uzbek robe, and blogger Maryam Tillyaeva presented Jimmy Donaldson with a tailored chapan bearing his logo and the word 'Uzbekistan.' Meanwhile, local businesses posted videos using the YouTuber's image in ways that suggested visits or endorsements that never happened, according to UzDaily.

Social media also claimed that the red Lamborghini from one of his challenges had crashed in Tashkent. The capital's police traffic unit denied it on Telegram, saying the car was monitored at all times and was not in any accident, and MrBeast explained that the supercar was damaged while filming in Delhi, India. On Friday (10) the tour moved on to Samarkand, where hundreds of fans crowded around for photos; even with police present, the crowd made it hard for the YouTuber to move around the city.