The project seemed too big to pass. An insult to common sense. Since Tuesday October 4, it has become reality. Meeting in a general assembly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Association of Asian National Olympic Committees (OCA) has designated Saudi Arabia as the host country for the Asian Winter Games in 2029.
In less than seven years, the Gulf state, whose name has never appeared in any world list of countries where skiing is possible outdoors, will therefore organize a continental meeting where 47 snow disciplines and of ice.
Impossible ? Obviously, the OCA thinks the opposite. But did she really have a choice?
The continental body is struggling to maintain a multi-sport event with a very shaky history on the international calendar. First held in 1986 in Sapporo, the Winter Olympic Games were supposed to take place every four years. But after the 2011 edition in Astana/Almaty, Kazakhstan, six years passed before a return to Sapporo in 2017. Since then, there has been a great void, due to a lack of candidates.
Saudi Arabia was the only one in the running. She won the bet, as expected. The OCA clarified in a press release: the decision was taken unanimously. “ Saudi Arabia's deserts and mountains will soon be a playground for winter sports", rejoiced the body, not displeased to bring out of the closet an event that was in danger of disappearing.
On paper, the Saudi project raises questions. It goes in the opposite direction of the trend for major international sporting events, where sustainability is elevated to priority and the recycling of existing equipment presented as an absolute rule.
In 2029, the Asian Winter Games will be held in Neom, a futuristic megacity under construction in the mountainous desert of northwestern Saudi Arabia. The project was launched in 2017. Its cost has never been officially announced, but it is estimated at several hundred billion dollars.
The competitions will be held in the Trojena resort, located in the most mountainous sector of Neom, with altitudes ranging from 1.500 to 2.600 m. According to the official press release, skiing will be possible outdoors all year round, with temperatures sometimes dropping below zero in winter, but “ throughout the year generally below 10 degrees"
Construction of Trojena is expected to be completed in 2026. It will be the country's first outdoor ski resort. For the Asian Winter Games in 2029, competitors will benefit from a mix of natural and artificial snow. According to the director of the Neom project, Nadhmi al-Nasr, Trojena will be equipped “ adequate infrastructure to create a winter atmosphere in the heart of the desert, and to make these Winter Games an unprecedented global event“. Unprecedented, for sure.
By the admission of its general secretary, Frenchman Michel Vion, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) was not informed of the OCA's decision to entrust a winter event to a country of sand and desert . “ I'm surprised, we didn't know anything, he admitted during a press point for the 2023 Alpine Ski Worlds in Méribel and Courchevel. But the Asian confederation is, in any case, not accountable to the FIS. We don't know the site, we must be careful not to comment too much now. But it's quite surprising"
With this new take, Saudi Arabia completes its collection of international sporting events. The kingdom even resolutely poses itself as a rival to Qatar on the crowded terrain of diplomacy through sport.
Its capital, Riyadh, has already been chosen to host the Asian Summer Games in 2034, an event where the aquatic events are planned in Neom. Saudi Arabia also obtained the organization of the World Combat Sports Games in 2023, then the Asian Indoor Sports and Martial Arts Games in 2025. The country is currently working on a joint candidacy with Egypt and Greece for the World Cup in 2030.
Following its Gulf neighbors, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the lead, Saudi Arabia, an ultraconservative country previously not very open to international events, has hosted several world competitions in recent years, including the Dakar rally and an F1 Grand Prix.
