Beirut Has a New Skatepark!

Within Horsh Beirut park in the city of Beirut, Make Life Skate Life has teamed up with the Lebanese Skateboarding Association to create ‘The Snoubar Skatepark’.

Safe place for local youth to skateboard, improve their psycho-social wellbeing and make friends.

The Snoubar Skatepark project is a 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.

In August 2020, after the explosion in the port of Beirut, we initiated a relief fund in support of skaters in Lebanon. Because of the explosion, skateboarding became nearly impossible but as one of the few outlets left for the mental and physical health of many young people in Beirut, skateboarding was needed more than ever. With the Relief Fund, we contributed with immediate disaster relief such as medical expenses, reconstruction and clean-up, covered university fees, and made available skate gear and shoes to more than 80 skaters.
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In many parts of the world, young people grow up in difficult circumstances and economic hardship without access to recreation, play, and a safe space where they can seek refuge.

Lebanon is 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 is an urgent need for a safe space for skateboarding.

The project aims to present an opportunity for the local community to participate in free skate classes and skateboard lending programs with skateboards and safety gear available for use at the skatepark.

While helping to rejuvenate the area, Snoubar skatepark will be one of the first public skateparks in Lebanon, which will support the sport’s growing popularity in Beirut.

Skateboarding can change the lives of youth both on an individual and collective level. It can improve their self-esteem and confidence, which contributes to an improved outlook and positive attitude towards achieving.

The Snoubar Skatepark project hopes to participate in the renewal of a country hit by the explosion of 2020 and an unprecedented economic and political crisis.