5 October 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has won the bid to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029 at its planned megacity, NEOM, making it the first Arab and Middle Eastern country set to do so.
The development was announced by Saudi Sports Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, on Twitter, where he stated that "With the unlimited support by the Saudi leadership & HRH Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman] to the sports sector we are proud to announce we have won the bid to host AWG TROJENA2029 as the first country in west Asia".
The decision came after the Kingdom submitted a letter of interest to the Olympic Council of Asia seeking to host the tenth occurrence of the games. The sporting events would be held in the Trojena mountain destination and resort, which is aimed to be completed in 2026, and to possess facilities such as an "all-year ski village", a man-made freshwater lake, and a nature reserve.
That mountainous resort is set to be part of Saudi Arabia's planned NEOM project – funded primarily through $500 billion allocated by the Kingdom's Public Investment Fund – which will apparently be a technologically-advanced and eco-friendly megacity that would attract investment and companies from all around the world.
NEOM's Chief Executive, Nadhmi Al-Nasr, stated that "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."
