Saudi Arabia has won a bid to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029, the country’s Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal announced on Tuesday.
The games will be held in TROJENA, which is part of the megacity NEOM and is located 50 kilometers from the Gulf of Aqaba coast.
NEOM is said to be Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s most ambitious project which aims to reduce the Kingdom’s reliance on oil and transform the economy by creating jobs for citizens.
Prince Abdulaziz said in a tweet: “With the unlimited support by the Saudi leadership & HRH Crown Prince to the sports sector, we are proud to announce we have won the bid to host AWG TROJENA2029 as the first country in western Asia, which will continue to place the kingdom as one of the leading countries in sport.”
The Asian Winter Games is an international multi-sport event that takes place every four years among athletes from all over Asia.
The Games have the distinction of being the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
Nine nations have hosted the Asian Games so far, with its first edition being held in New Dehli in 1951.
China are currently the most successful country in terms of total medals won followed by Japan and South Korea.
