Saudi Arabia wins bid to host 2029 Asian Winter Games

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) selected Saudi Arabia as host of the 2029 Asian Winter Games on Tuesday. The Arab nation was confirmed as host of the event nearly two months after indicating initial interest with a surprising and bold proposal that included a yet to be built ski resort.

Saudi Arabia will host the event at its planned mountain tourism location, TROJENA. Located in the Tabuk Province, TROJENA will rely mainly on artificial snow given the region’s limited annual snowfall. The major mountain tourism location will include roughly 30 kilometers of ski slopes according to online marketing materials.

Construction on the groundbreaking mountain sports infrastructure project is expected to be completed by 2026. Currently, Saudi Arabia has no operational outdoor skiing facilities.

HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), stated, “this is a great victory for the Saudi nation and the people of the Gulf countries due to the generous support offered to the Saudi sports sector.”

He added, “this achievement also shed light on the enormous potential and the outstanding infrastructure of Saudi Arabia to host and organise international-level sports competitions and Games successfully.”

HH Prince Fahad bin Jalawi, SOPC Vice President, highlighted the loftier goals of his nation, declaring, “We are sparing no effort to push Saudi sports forward alongside the most advanced countries in the world.”

Indeed, the country has begun to play a larger hand in hosting major international multi-sports events. The Arab kingdom is slated to host the 2023 World Combat Games, 2025 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and 2034 Asian Games.

Acting OCA President Raja Randhir Singh labeled the selection of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2029 Asian Winter Games a “pleasant surprise.” His organization also revealed it intends to further target the development of winter sports across the continent.

The Asian Winter Games have been held intermittently since 1986. Only four countries, namely Japan, China, South Korea, and Kazakhstan have played host to the continental winter multi-sports event.

Sapporo, Japan hosted the most recent edition of the Games in 2017. The Japanese city is actively bidding to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, but its bid faces increasing uncertainty stemming from the Tokyo 2020 corruption scandal.

Pyeongchang, South Korea and Beijing were the most recent host cities of the Winter Olympics. It remains unclear if Saudi Arabia has similar ambitions with TROJENA. The nation made its Winter Olympics debut earlier this year in Beijing 2022.