Riyadh (AFP)
The Olympic Council of Asia has announced the selection of Saudi Arabia to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029, in the giant futuristic city of NEOM, which its organizers say will include a Winter Games complex.
“The deserts and mountains of Saudi Arabia will soon become a stadium for winter sports,” the council said in a statement following the general assembly held in Phnom Penh.
The statement said the Saudi file was approved “unanimously”, making Neom the first city in West Asia to host the Asian Winter Games.
The Asian Winter Games will be held in an area called Trogina in Neom; “It is characterized by different temperatures throughout the year. In the winter season, temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius, while temperatures are moderate and 10 degrees colder than the rest of the region,” according to the project’s website.
Work on Trogina will be completed by 2026, according to the project organizers, who said the project will provide “a range of activities and events throughout the year, such as ski sports and a range of activities for ski lovers. ‘adventure”.
A huge freshwater lake will also be built and a village called “The Volt”, which will be built vertically.
“This is a great victory for the Saudi nation and for the Gulf countries,” said the Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic Committee, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, after choosing his country as a guest. This is due to the generous support provided to the Saudi sports sector, which contributes greatly to the advancement of sport and all other fields of the Kingdom, with the aim of achieving the goals of the Vision of the Kingdom 2030 “.
“We thank the Asian Olympic Council for giving us this opportunity. Trogina will be a year-round destination for winter sports and is fully funded and backed by government guarantees. “
He continued: “It will highlight the enormous potential and infrastructure of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to successfully host and organize competitions and sports internationally.”
The city, first announced in 2017, is inspired by the atmosphere of science fiction films with flying taxis and working robots, but raises questions among architects and economists about its feasibility.
Last July, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled plans to design The Line, the heart of the city of Neom, located on the Red Sea coast in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The Asian Winter Games comprise 47 competitions, including 28 on snow and 19 on snow.
Alpine skier Fayek Abdi, the first Saudi athlete to participate in the Winter Olympics, said when competing in Beijing 2022, in a statement reported by the Olympic Council statement: “I didn’t think I was going to ski in my country. Now I am not seeing. time for the Asian Winter Games to come to my country. “
For his part, NEOM CEO Nazmi Al-Nasr said: “Trogena will have the adequate infrastructure to prepare the winter conditions in the heart of the desert, to make these Winter Games an unprecedented global event”.
Investing in sports is part of a multi-pronged strategy approved six years ago to diversify the oil-dependent economy.
