“When they want something, they do it quickly. Blocks appear and then a building emerges. The process is similar to the one carried out in Dubai.” This is to summarize Iberian Press Saudi Arabia’s mentality David CabildoHe is the coach of the Easter Flames, the pioneer of women’s football in the country. It is a reflection of the unstoppable progress of the state, which hosts the Super Cup these days, towards becoming a leader in world sports. There they are, beyond their investment in arguably the country’s most beloved sport. golf, boxing, paddle tennis and any other sport that comes your way. The last obstacle that seems insurmountable in a country with 95 percent organization 2029 Asian Winter Games.
Saudis benefit from climate change
The event will take place in the futuristic megacity Neom, which the state will build on the Red Sea coast and where an investment of 455.5 billion euros is envisaged. Saudi Arabia will save an event that has not been held since 2017, when Sapporo hosted the Winter Games. The return of the event will take place in 2025 in Harbin, China’s ‘ice city’. The East Asian giant has more tradition in such appointments. In 2022, Beijing hosted the Winter Olympics, but most of the events did not have a fully winter setting.
However, according to a study conducted by the University of Waterloo (Canada), only one of the venues that hosted the Winter Olympics, namely Sapporo, was able to repeat this situation. In the best-case scenario, only three out of 12 European cities will host ski tests again in 2050. In the context of artificial snow and plastic mats for educational purposes, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself with a groundbreaking project. Within the framework of the Vision 2030 plan for diversifying the economy.
“With the unlimited support of the Saudi authorities and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, we are proud to announce: We won the bid for the Asian Winter Games, which no other country in West Asia has achieved. In the official statement made by Saudi Arabia’s candidacy, Trojena will be a sustainable infrastructure that will create the winter atmosphere in the heart of the desert.”
Project justification and criticism
Trojena is part of the futuristic megacity Neom, located 50 kilometers from the Persian Gulf coast and aims to become the center of tourism and economic development of the country. “There are poor experiences with Trojena and It has a temperate climate, which is cooler on average than the rest of the region throughout the year.. Developers say Trojena, with its clean air and panoramic views, will be a fascinating place to work and live.
Although Neom said the region would have “unique solar and wind advantages for 100% clean energy production” and be “a symbol of vegetal nature”, the Asian Winter Games award was controversial. So much so that the International Olympic Committee regretted not being informed of this decision. Alpine sports expert Kilian Jornet blamed the Asian Olympic Committee. “They only care about money or they are geniuses and they know there will be no snow anywhere in 2029 so you can only train on sand”.
Despite the criticism, Trojena is already in operation and aims to be operational in 2026 to offer skiing and outdoor adventure sports in both summer and winter. The promoters behind Neom include images such as the 2,580-meter-high Mount Gebel al Lawz, which often gets snow in some months. But the 2029 Asian Games will require bringing in significant amounts of water from the nearby Red Sea to be desalinated later.
“We will continue to do sports washing”
When Trojena is completed, there will be a 30 kilometer track and a valley with an artificial field will be built. An airport will be located near the ski complex, and 2,200 residences and a hotel with 3,600 rooms will be built in Trojena. “People say, wait a minute… Is there snow in Saudi Arabia? The truth is that we only need -3 degrees to create snow. “We can do this for three months a year,” Neom marketing and communications director Clark Williams said in his assessment of the 2029 Asian Games.
Because, as Mohammed bin Salmán said in one of the few interviews given to the Western media – especially ‘Fox News’ – “I don’t care if they say ‘sports washing’, even if they say we do ‘sports washing’.” We will continue to do ‘sports washing’ if it causes us to increase our Gross Domestic Product by 1%.