The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has chosen the 'deserts and mountains' of Saudi Arabia to host the 2029 edition of the Asian Winter Games. The deal was confirmed on Tuesday that will allow a $500 billion flagship NEOM project to host the event.
The Asian Winter Games, which will take place at the Trojena Resort on Saudi's highest mountain range, include a total of 47 events, 28 on snow and 10 on ice featuring competitions for skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey and figure skating, the OCA said.
The Saudi sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal took to Twitter and wrote, "With the unlimited support by the Saudi leadership & HRH Crown Prince to the sport sector we are proud to announce we have won the bid to host AWG TROJENA2029 as the first country in west Asia."
The OCA made the decision in its general assembly meeting in Phnom Penh and said in a statement, "The deserts and mountains of Saudi Arabia will soon be a playground for winter sports."
NEOM chief executive Nadhmi al-Nasr said, "Trojena will have a suitable infrastructure to create the winter atmosphere in the heart of the desert, to make this Winter Games an unprecedented global event."
The futuristic megacity in the desert, NEOM is the most ambitious project of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transform the economy through sports and reduce the dependency on oil.