The 2029 Asian Winter Games scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia has been postponed.
Saudi Arabia's Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia issued a joint statement on Saturday in which both parties agreed to a delay with a new date to be “announced in due course”.
The kingdom planned to host the Games at a showpiece mountain resort that forms part of the Neom mega-project. Scheduled to take place at Trojena in the country's mountainous north-west, Saudi Arabia was set to become the first nation from the Middle East to stage the winter competition.
However, rumours that the Games would not be delivered on time first surfaced last year. The Olympic Council of Asia declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The National in September 2025.
“The Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia have agreed on an updated framework for future hosting of the Asian Winter Games, confirming the postponement of the 2029 edition to a later date to be announced in due course,” the statement said.
It was also announced that Saudi Arabia will host a number of one-off winter competitions in preparation for the main event.
“Under the revised framework, Saudi Arabia will host a series of standalone winter sports events in the coming years,” the statement continued. “These competitions are designed to promote winter sports while providing additional preparation time to support wider regional representation at future Asian winter events.”
South Korea and China have been suggested as potential replacements for 2029 as they hosted the Winter Olympics in 2018 and 2022, respectively. China also staged the Asian Winter Games in Harbin last February.
Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in building the kingdom up as a global destination for commerce, sports and tourism. Considerable resources have been poured into the Saudi Pro League, motorsports, boxing, golf and other events to position the country as a top sporting destination.
The kingdom will host the 2034 Fifa World Cup, making it the second country from the Gulf region to land the coveted event after Qatar in 2022.
After other contenders like Australia and Indonesia withdrew their interest to host the 2034 finals, Saudi Arabia emerged as the lone candidate and winners of the bid.
