Saudi Arabia plans to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029, the country announced Tuesday, shortly after winning the bid to host the sporting event.
The country plans on holding the Games at its mountainous high-tech resort development called TROJENA, according to Reuters. The development is part of Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion flagship NEOM project, the outlet noted.
“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, which will continue to place the kingdom as one of the leading countries in sport,” Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal tweeted Tuesday.
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, which will continue to place the kingdom as one of the leading countries in sport pic.twitter.com/GtV6OhxRhW
— عبدالعزيز بن تركي الفيصل (@AbdulazizTF) October 4, 2022
Located near the Sarawat mountains, the region tends to have a colder climate, BBC reported.
“[TROJENA] will have a suitable infrastructure to create the winter atmosphere in the heart of the desert,” NEOM chief executive Nadhmi Al-Nasr stated, according to the outlet. The resort plans to use both natural and artificial snow, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Arab Countries Pressure Netflix To Remove Gay Content)
#BREAKING Saudi Arabia will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in NEOM megacity, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) says pic.twitter.com/r84kJtPT6h
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 4, 2022
TROJENA aims to be completed by 2026 and plans to offer outdoor skiing and adventure sports year-round, according to the project’s website.
NEOM is a proposed high-tech development on the Red Sea which aims to reduce the country’s oil dependency, according to Reuters. The development is expected to include a zero-carbon city called “The Line,” as well as industrial and logistics locations.