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Controversial projectSkiing in the desert – Saudi Arabia is hosting the Asian Winter Games
Saudi Arabia has been awarded the contract for the 2029 Asian Winter Games and will host the major event in a ski resort in the middle of the desert that has yet to be built.
The mega event was awarded on Tuesday in Cambodia.
AFP
The Asian Games 2029 is not the first major event to take place in Saudi Arabia.
IMAGO/APAimages
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Saudi Arabia is hosting the 2029 Asian Winter Games.
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The ski area for this is in the middle of the desert and is only being planned.
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The Saudi regime also wants to use other sporting events to distract attention from human rights violations in the country.
“This is a great victory for the Saudi nation and the entire Gulf region,” said Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sport, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal, after winning the Asian Winter Games in 2029. The decision by the Asian Olympic Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was a further step establishing the kingdom as one of the leading countries in sport, declared bin Turki al-Faisal.
The major event will take place in the mountainous region of Trojena, which is part of the futuristic planned city of Neon on the Red Sea. Neon is a mega-project with an estimated volume of around CHF 500 billion, but only a few buildings have been completed at the moment. The newly constructed metropolis with the megacity “the Lime” as its heart is to become a tourist attraction and compete with cities such as Doha or Dubai.
Dry area
Most of the area, including Trojena, is currently a barren desert area. The mountain area is 50 kilometers from the coast and lies at an altitude of 1500 to 2600 meters. Although the temperatures occasionally drop below freezing in winter, the area is bone-dry.
Due to the dry conditions, all snow competitions in 2029 will have to be held on artificial snow. The only consolation from an ecological point of view: All energy should come 100 percent from renewable sources. In 2022 in Beijing, Saudi Arabia took part in the Winter Olympics for the first time with skier Fayik Abdi as the only starter. Abdi finished 44th in the giant slalom in Beijing and said on Tuesday: “I never imagined that I would be able to ski in my home country”.
Numerous sports washing events
The Winter Games are not the first major sporting event to be held in Saudi Arabia. The strictly autocratic state runs, among other things, a Formula 1 Grand Prix, events in golf, boxing and equestrian sports as well as the Supercup of the Spanish football league. In addition, the Saudis should try in a joint candidacy with Egypt and Greece for the 2030 World Cup.
The events are often viewed under the slogan “sportswashing” as efforts by Saudi Arabia to restore the country’s image in the public eye. The desert state has been criticized for human rights violations for years.
(flo/dpa)