Saudi Arabia to host 2029 Asian Winter Games in a £440bn megacity with a year-round winter sports complex

Saudi Arabia have won a bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in a futuristic megacity that will cost £440bn to build.

The Games will be hosted in the Trojena development which is expected to be completed in 2026.

The planned Neom project will feature a year-round ski resort, a man-made freshwater lake and a nature reserve. There will be natural snow on the mountains, but some artificial snow is expected to be used.

“The deserts & mountains of Saudi Arabia will soon be a playground for winter sports!” the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said in a statement announcing its decision.

Nadhmi al-Nasr, chief executive of the Neom project, 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.”

In July, plans were unveiled for a project within Neom known as ‘The Line’ which will feature two mirror-encased skyscrapers extending over 105 miles of mountain and desert terrain.

Saudi Arabia was the only bidder for the continent’s Winter Games which have not been held since 2017. Saudi Arabia will also host the Asian Games in 2034 in Riyadh.

The oil-rich nation are also expected to make a joint bid with Egypt and Greece for football’s 2030 World Cup.