Kazakhstan to host Asian Winter Games after Saudi setback

Kazakhstan will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, an event originally planned for Saudi Arabia until the kingdom acknowledged last month that its $38 billion Trojena ski resort would not be ready in time.

The Olympic Council of Asia named Almaty, Kazakhstan, as the replacement host city after deliberations on the sidelines of the 2026 Winter Olympics, which begin today in Milan.

Riyadh and the Council agreed in late January to postpone Saudi Arabia’s staging of the Games, which had been awarded to Trojena as part of the NEOM megaproject in 2022. Kazakhstan last hosted the Asian Winter Games in 2011.