The Royal Rumble 2026 took place at Riyadh Season Stadium, located in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Financial District, making it the first time the event was held beyond North America. Despite selling around 25,000 tickets—one of WWE’s largest international turnouts—the event faced backlash as many viewers noticed that the stadium appeared sparsely populated during the broadcast, raising questions about the crowd size and atmosphere.
Reasons Behind Perceived Empty Stands During Broadcast
Fans watching the show on Netflix observed several shots showing many seats seemingly unoccupied, especially in the early parts of the event. Videos and photos shared on social media amplified these concerns, painting a picture of an underwhelming audience turnout. According to PWInsider, the visuals did not accurately represent the real attendance. The issue stemmed from a new lighting setup involving LED rigs placed around the seating areas, designed to enhance the visual experience by projecting graphics and logos onto the crowd sections.
However, the intense LED lighting ended up making the audience less visible on camera. These bright lights overshadowed the fans, who were mostly wearing darker clothing, creating an optical effect that made large sections of the stadium look empty despite being filled with people.
Logan Paul Explains Impact of Lighting on Crowd Visibility
Logan Paul, who entered as the 20th competitor in the Royal Rumble main event, discussed the crowd’s appearance during his appearance on the IMPAULSIVE podcast with the Bella sisters. He clarified that the lighting played a major role in how the audience was perceived on screen.
Because the white light drew your attention to something that is bright and isn’t filling space within that whiteness. But people are in darker clothing. And if there’s a light that’s like lighting up, and that’s what they were there for, to make the stands look cool and do logos and stuff, but if the lights are lighting up, the people are not going to be seen because all the attention is with the bright light,
he said.
Brie Bella supported his comments, emphasizing that the crowd noise was very loud throughout the event. Furthermore, images and videos captured by attendees inside the stadium showed that when the LED lights were switched off, the venue appeared much fuller than what was broadcasted to viewers at home.
How This Affects Future WWE International Events
This experience highlights the challenges WWE faces when innovating production techniques for international venues, especially when striving to create visually engaging broadcasts. While the LED lighting was intended to enhance the visual atmosphere, it inadvertently diminished the perception of a large live audience, possibly affecting fan reception and credibility. Moving forward, WWE may reassess lighting strategies to ensure future international spectacles clearly convey the excitement and scale of their events to home viewers, maintaining fan engagement worldwide.
