Saudi Arabia and the Olympic Council of Asia have begun approaching other countries to potentially take over the 2029 Asian Winter Games as the ski resort designated to host the event in the Middle Eastern nation grapples with construction challenges.
Riyadh has held informal discussions with Beijing on the subject, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified discussing confidential information. Meanwhile, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee has been contacted by the OCA about possibly hosting the games, an official from the KSOC said in an emailed statement.
The event is seen as a key marker for Saudi Arabia’s global ambitions and the kingdom could eventually simply choose to scale back plans for the planned ski resort — called Trojena — in order to meet deadlines, people familiar with the matter said. So far, the kingdom has publicly said that construction within Trojena is continuing according to a phased plan.
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