From Bedroom Gaming to Wembley Stadium
The Sidemen, YouTube’s powerhouse content collective, made internet history this weekend by selling out Wembley Stadium for their annual charity football match, raising a record-breaking £4.7 million for charitable causes.
All 90,000 tickets were snapped up in just three hours, demonstrating the immense drawing power of these digital creators who have evolved from making bedroom gaming videos to running a multi-million pound internet empire.
A Record-Breaking Event
The sixth Sidemen Charity Match shattered multiple records:
- £4,733,004 raised for charities including BBC Children in Need, Bright Side, and M7 Education.
- Nearly double the £2.4 million raised at their 2023 match at West Ham’s London Stadium.
- Over 14 million viewers tuned into the livestream, with the on-demand version reaching #1 on YouTube trending.
- 90,000 live attendees, representing the group’s progression from 15,000 fans at their first match in 2016.
Star Power On Display
The match featured an incredible lineup of digital stars from around the world. The YouTube All-Stars squad showcased some of the internet’s biggest names:
- MrBeast, currently the most-subscribed individual creator on YouTube with over 250 million subscribers.
- IShowSpeed, the streaming phenomenon who captained the All-Stars and scored the winning penalty.
- Kai Cenat, Twitch’s breakout star who found the net after an assist from Speed.
- Logan Paul, the YouTuber-turned-WWE-superstar who added his name to the scoresheet.
Meanwhile, Sidemen FC featured all seven members of the iconic group. The incredible 9-9 scoreline highlighted just how entertaining the match was, with goals coming from all angles before the penalty shootout drama.
The Evolution of Livestream Production
What made this event truly remarkable wasn’t just the attendance figures or viewer count, but the professional-level production that rivaled traditional sports broadcasts. The livestream featured:
- Multi-camera setups with professional-grade cinematography.
- Real-time graphics and instant replays.
- Professional commentary and analysis.
- Integrated fan engagement elements.
- Stadium-quality half-time entertainment with KSI and AJ Tracey performing.
This production quality represents an enormous leap from the early days of creator content. The Sidemen have effectively created a blueprint for how digital creators can produce large-scale live events that merge the appeal of traditional sports with the personality-driven nature of social media.
What This Means For The Livestreaming Industry
The Wembley sellout represents a watershed moment for the livestreaming industry. Here’s why it matters:
Legitimizing Creator Content: By filling the same stadium that hosts England football matches and major concerts, digital creators have proven they command the same cultural significance as traditional entertainers and athletes.
Blurring Industry Lines: The event demonstrates how the lines between digital content, sports, and traditional entertainment continue to blur. With professional production values and marketing, creator events can now compete directly with established entertainment forms.
New Revenue Models: The charity match showcases how creators can monetize beyond platform revenue-sharing, with ticket sales, merchandise, and sponsorships (like MrBeast’s Feastables as title sponsor) creating new income streams.
Global Reach: The ability to simultaneously engage 90,000 in-person fans while reaching 14+ million viewers online demonstrates the unique advantage digital creators have in building global audiences.
The Future of Creator Events
As livestreaming continues to mature as a medium, we can expect to see more creator-led stadium events breaking into the mainstream. The Sidemen have demonstrated that with the right combination of personality, production value, and fan engagement, digital creators can fill the largest venues in the world.
🔥 Pete’s Content Corner
Delve into my weekly selection of content creation highlights—handpicked videos, podcasts, and tweets that promise to captivate, educate, and entertain.
- YouTube is expanding its Premium Lite pilot to the US, offering viewers a more affordable ad-free experience at $7.99 per month, though excluding music videos and features like downloads and background play.
- Discord is reportedly in early talks with investment bankers about a potential IPO that could happen as early as this year, potentially valuing the gaming-focused chat platform at around $15 billion.
- Streaming superstar Kai Cenat made his late-night television debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, further cementing creators’ crossover into mainstream media.
