Saudi Arabia’s Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia agreed to postpone the 2029 Asian Winter Video games, which the dominion was to host at a showpiece mountain resort that types a part of its NEOM mega‑mission, an announcement on Saturday stated.
No new timetable was offered and neither organisation gave a motive for the delay within the joint assertion.
The postponement marks a setback for the dominion, which has dedicated to internet hosting a number of main occasions over the following decade.
The winter video games, along with the 2034 FIFA World Cup and the 2030-2031 Riyadh Expo, had offered clear deadlines for advancing huge mega‑initiatives, central to the dominion’s purpose of decreasing reliance on hydrocarbon revenues.
NEOM, with a projected inhabitants of 9 million, and different initiatives have confronted repeated delays.
Saudi Arabia postpones Winter Video games 2026
A supply on the Saudi Olympic Committee advised Reuters on Saturday that the dominion will negotiate a brand new date to host the video games in NEOM.
The delay would enable Saudi Arabia to develop a tradition of winter sports activities, added the supply, who spoke on the situation of anonymity.
The announcement comes as Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund and the federal government overview main growth initiatives throughout the dominion.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al‑Jadaan stated final yr that the dominion had “no ego” in relation to reassessing the feasibility of some initiatives because it shifts focus to sectors able to delivering faster returns, together with tourism, non secular pilgrimages, trade and synthetic intelligence.
The Winter Video games had been on account of be held at Trojena, a centrepiece of NEOM, a $500bn-plus mega‑mission.
Trojena, within the mountains of northwest Saudi Arabia, is designed to supply outside sports activities and yr‑spherical snowboarding in a area with no pure snow.
However the mission has confronted persistent questions over its timeline.
In August 2025, the OCA approached South Korea about probably stepping in as host.
