Saudi Arabia to host Winter Games at €500bn megacity

Saudi Arabia will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games at a €500bn futuristic megacity in the desert that planners say will feature a year-round winter sports complex.

Saudi Arabia has drawn criticism for alleged sportswashing – hosting high-profile boxing, Formula 1 and other contests which is seen as an attempt to divert attention from its human rights record.

"The deserts and mountains of Saudi Arabia will soon be a playground for winter sports," the Olympic Council of Asia said in a statement on the decision made during its general assembly meeting in Phnom Penh.

The Saudi bid was "unanimously approved", the statement said, noting that the megacity known as Neom will be the first West Asian city to host the event.

First announced in 2017, Neom has consistently raised eyebrows for proposed flourishes like flying taxis and robot maids, even as architects and economists have questioned its feasibility.

In July, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled plans for a project within Neom known as The Line, two parallel mirror-encased skyscrapers extending over 170 kilometres of mountain and desert terrain.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly also in talks on a proposal to jointly host the 2030 World Cup football tournament.

Staging the 2030 men's World Cup in Saudi Arabia would be "virtually impossible" if FIFA correctly applies its human rights criteria to any bid it makes, Amnesty International has said.

"After the purchase of Newcastle, the staging of the Anthony Joshua fights and the hugely controversial LIV golf venture, it feels almost inevitable that Saudi Arabia will also seek to host the 2030 World Cup as a sort of crowning glory to its sportswashing operations," Amnesty UK said in a statement last week prior to the Asian Games