Airbnb donates $1.5 million to Colosseum as Gladiator II hits cinemas.

Rome's Colosseum will offer a handful of people the unique chance to engage in a gladiator combat experience in the ancient arena thanks to a deal with short-let property rental firm Airbnb.

The exclusive three-hour experience, scheduled on 7 and 8 May 2025, will see participants taken into the torchlit underground chambers of the amphitheatre where gladiators prepared for battle.

Here they will be suited up in "historically accurate" armour that reflects their "gladiator type, whether that be murmillo, thraex, provocator, retiarius, or contrarete", before being trained in gladiator combat in an empty arena after sunset.

Participants will then face off against their fellow warriors, with their fate determined by a summa rudis or referee, in a collaboration with Rome historical re-enactment associations Ars Dimicandi and Gruppo Storico Romano.

The one-off initiative, part of Airbnb's new Icons category of "extraordinary experiences", will be available for up to 16 people (eight guests and their +1), on both evenings.

The experience can be booked for free at airbnb.com/gladiatormovie from 27 November until 9 December, with guests responsible for their own travel to and from Rome.

The move, part of Airbnb's partnership with Paramount Pictures to promote Ridley Scott’s new Gladiator II movie, comes as the rental platform unveils a major new collaboration with the Colosseum.

As part of the deal, Airbnb will allocate $1.5 million towards the realisation of the project Il Colosseo si Racconta, which includes renovating the museum itinerary and the permanent exhibition inside the ancient amphitheatre.

Cover image: Daniele Castellaro / Airbnb