Saudi Arabia wins bid to host Asian Winter Games

Saudi Arabia has won a bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games at a planned mountain resort in the Kingdom's $500 billion flagship NEOM project.

The TROJENA development is expected to be completed in 2026 and will offer outdoor skiing, a man-made freshwater lake and a nature reserve, according to the project's website.

"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," Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal said on Twitter.

NEOM is Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman's most ambitious project under the Vision 2030 development plan to reduce reliance on oil and transform the economy, including by developing sports.

The 26,500-square-km high-tech development on the Red Sea, will include zero-carbon city "The Line" as well as industrial and logistics areas.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to host the Asian Winter Games in TROJENA2029 , @NEOM’s global destination for mountain tourism 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/mx9qOGlHfu

— Ministry of Sport (@mosgovsa_en) October 4, 2022