The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced that Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, will replace Saudi Arabia’s Neom as host of the 2029 Asian Winter Games. The decision was disclosed on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
The Games had been scheduled for Trojena, a mountain tourism resort in the Neom development on the Red Sea. OCA President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani cited Kazakhstan’s winter-sports tradition and the legacy of Almaty’s previous staging of the Asian Winter Games in 2011 as reasons for the selection, saying the city is well placed to deliver a memorable 2029 edition.
The change follows an agreement reached in January between Saudi authorities and the OCA to postpone hosting at Trojena after Riyadh delayed completion of the ski-resort. A source at the Saudi Olympic Committee told Reuters the kingdom still intends to host the Games in the future and views the postponement as an opportunity to foster a winter-sports culture.
The setback adds to broader challenges for Neom, the high-profile centerpiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030. The sprawling project — which includes ambitious plans for large, mirror-clad structures and other major developments — has encountered repeated delays, rising costs and questions about feasibility amid weaker oil revenues. Observers say Riyadh has been reassessing several large-scale projects because of budgetary pressures and construction setbacks.
Edited by: Zac Crellin