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Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

We participated to the construction of the first public skatepark in Beirut.

By Decathlon Skateboarding

September 3^rd, 2021

On the 4th of August 2020 an explosion in the port of Beirut rocked the capital of Lebanon. More than 200 people were killed by the explosion of a warehouse inadequately housing highly flammable chemicals.

The Snoubar Skatepark project hopes to participate in the renewal of a country hit by the explosion of 2020 and an unprecedented economic, political and social crisis. The goal was to create, before the symbolic date of the one-year memorial of the explosion, a place of leisure and joy for the community.

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

The Lebanese skateboard scene

Lebanon was one of the few countries in the Middle East with no public skatepark. With the growth of skateboarding in Beirut and limited access to public space, there was an urgent need for a safe space for skateboarding. We talked with several locals who told us that it was really complicated for them to skate. People are not welcoming with skaters, altercations with locals and security guards are common and they are getting kicked out everywhere they go.

The Snoubar (Pine tree in Lebanese) skatepark project is collaborative effort to build and sustain a free-of-charge community skatepark at the urban park Horsh in the center of Beirut. The project addresses underprivileged youth in Beirut to contribute towards increasing their resilience and psycho-social well-being through skateboarding.

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

A collaborative effort

We first heard about this project in February 2021 when Arne Hillerns, founder of the NGO Make Life Skate Life got in touch with us asking if Decathlon Skateboarding would be interested to particpate to this project. We were instantly excited about it and told Arne that we would love to help. We created the brand Decathlon Skateboarding in 2018 with the ambition to serve skateboarding and to be useful to skaters and the skateboarding scene in general.

Click here to read the article presenting the Decathlon Skateboarding project

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

Decathlon Foundation as a sponsor of this project

The Decathlon Foundation has been created in 2005 by and for the Decathlon employees. Convinced that sport has so much to give us, the Decathlon Foundation wants to make it accessible to the many. They support initiatives from Decathlon employees that are using sport as a tool for integration and empowerment.

We reached out to the Decathlon Foundation to know if they would be interested to support us on this project. It turns out they were thrilled by this initiative and unlocked 50 000 euros for the construction of this skatepark.

It is not the first time that the Decathlon Foundation helped us to support a skateboarding project. In 2018, they financed the construction of Colorama, the first indoor skatepark in Roubaix at La Condition Publique.

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

The construction

The construction started in June. 20 to 25 people were working on the construction site everyday. The team included local and foreign skaters along with profesional builders and volunteers from across the world. The construction was made possible thanks to Matze, a german skateboarder and skilled skatepark builder, who's been living in Beirut for the last few years. He was on site everyday managing the construction from day one until completion.

The usual working days were really intense with a lot of extremly physical labour under the hot sun of Lebanon. On some days, two trucks of concrete were delivered in order to meet the beginning of August deadline. On these days the team was on site from 6am until 10pm, sometimes even later.

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

For the local, by the local

The construction of the skatepark was the first step of this project. Now that it is finished the Local NGO Arcenciel will help maintain and sustain the park while another NGO, Just Childhood, will create a program for free skateboarding lessons for the local youth in the neighboring Shatila Palestinian refugee camp.

During our visit we spent some time with the local Decathlon team who is also involved in this project. Indeed, Decathlon teams in Lebanon are committed to providing professional opportunities to local skaters. Internships, seasonal contracts and permanent contracts will be offered to local skaters over the years.

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

last finish with the headlamp

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

Snoubar, the first public skatepark in Beirut

Mike Richard, 19 years old local skater who came on site everyday to help with the construction. He is now giving skateboarding lessons on a daily basis at the park.

"Khalas concrete!" The meaning of “khalas!” is the English equivalent of “enough!” or “stop!”. It is a sentence we heard often when the driver got heavy handed on concrete

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