Saudi Arabia's Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia have agreed to indefinitely postpone the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which were to have been held in a mountain resort in Saudi's futuristic city project NEOM. Instead, Saudi will host a series of standalone winter sports events in coming years, the statement said. It added that the decision came after "extensive consultations between the two organizations and reflects a shared strategic commitment to the long-term and sustainable development of winter sports in Saudi Arabia and across the West Asia region." The games were to have been held in Trojena, planned as a year-round ski resort in the mountains of NEOM, a $500 billion project to build a new city in Saudi Arabia's western desert on the Red Sea. At its core is spending on sports by the $900 billion sovereign wealth operation, the Public Investment Fund.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 25, 2026 09:54 UTC