YouTube star Darren Jason Watkins, known online as IShowSpeed, visited Lithuania on Tuesday and was met at the airport by Economy Minister Lukas Savickas.
“Welcome to Lithuania! We know you like speed, so here’s a quick version of Lithuanian pink soup,” the minister told Watkins at the airport as he handed him a glass of šaltibarščiai, Lithuania's traditional cold beet soup.
The Internet celebrity was also presented with a batik-style T-shirt, similar to those made popular during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Later in the day, he was greeted near the Palace of the Grand Dukes by Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas.
A crowd of fans and a table of refreshments awaited Watkins at the palace. Performers in folk costumes invited him to join in traditional Lithuanian dances.
The YouTube star also visited the capital’s Vingio Park, where he threw a discus with Olympic silver medalist Mykolas Alekna. He also stopped by the Vilnius TV Tower and the White Bridge area.
Karolis Vaitkevičius, an adviser to the economy minister, told 15min.lt that IShowSpeed’s trip was organised by the tourism promotion agencies Go Vilnius and Travel Lithuania. The cost was around 30,000 euros, including a 20,000-euro fee and about 10,000 euros for local arrangements.
The project was coordinated with Latvia and Estonia, which the American influencer had already visited.
IShowSpeed is a YouTube and Twitch streamer with around 40 million followers, known for his high-energy reactions and gaming content.
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