A FUTURISTIC $500billion megacity in the desert has won its bid to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games – despite not being built yet.
Saudi Arabia's ultra-modern metropolis named Neom will welcome competitors from over 32 countries for the prestigious sporting event.
The games will be held at the Trojena development – an ambitious mountain resort complete with outdoor skiing, a man-made freshwater lake and a nature reserve.
Organisers promised they would "create the winter atmosphere in the heart of the desert" after the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) give them the green light.
But Trojena is still in the process of being "built from scratch" and won't be completed until at least 2026.
And the plans for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's brainchild are so revolutionary, some of the technology doesn't even exist yet.
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Despite now being set with a firm deadline of completion, the time constraints haven't stopped the team behind Neom from celebrating their successful bid.
Saudi sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal wrote in a tweet: "With the unlimited support by the Saudi leadership & HRH Crown Prince to the sport sector we are proud to announce we have won the bid to host AWG TROJENA2029 as the first country in west Asia."
The pioneering nation submitted a letter of interest to the Olympic Council in August before it was officially approved this week.
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The approval means Saudi Arabia will become the first nation in western Asia to host the Asian Winter Games.
The OCA said of the decision: "The deserts and mountains of Saudi Arabia will soon be a playground for winter sports."
Athletes will compete in a range of competitions including skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey and figure skating.
According to Neom's website, temperatures in Trojena throughout the colder months will drop below 0C.
Chief executive of the futuristic city, Nadhmi al-Nasr, insisted the space will have "suitable infrastructure", assuring sports fans the 2029 Asian Winter Games will be "an unprecedented global event."
As well as boasting state-of-the-art sporting facilities, Prince bin Salman wants Trojena to "redefine mountain tourism for the world".
He first unveiled the plans for Neom in 2017 under the kingdom's Vision 2030 development plan to reduce reliance on oil.
The city will be powered by solar and wind and will be 17 times the size of London.
His Royal Highness, who is also chair of Neom's board, wants to reinvent the nation's economy and create thousands of jobs.
GRAND DESIGN
Saudi wants to attract "the brightest and the best" professionals to the city and create a major commercial hub to rival Dubai in the UAE and Doha in Qatar.
Some of the other bizarre proposals for Neom include "dinosaur robots" in a Jurassic Park-style attraction and "robot martial arts" where machines will fight each other for entertainment.
Cloud seeding will also be used to make rain clouds in the incredibly dry country which is the size of Western Europe.
The process involves dumping substances such as dry ice, using planes or drones, into clouds to create rainfall.
A £800billion sideways skyscraper that spans over 75miles long and hopes to house five million people will also take centre stage.
The mammoth project – dubbed the Mirror Line because it will be made out of mirrored glass – will be about the size of Massachusetts and taller than the Empire State Building.
Prince bin Salman announced the astonishing plans in January 2021 with the aim of creating the Kingdom's very own version the Pyramids of Egypt.
The slick building – which will be coated in a silver shine – boasts an end-to-end travel time of about 20 minutes and is to be powered off renewable energy.
It will also have miles of greenery and homes and its own farms to feed the more than five million residents expected to fill it out.
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But critics have questioned the project's price tag and whether people would be drawn to living in a confined space after the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia has drawn criticism for alleged "sportswashing" — hosting high-profile boxing, Formula 1 and other contests to divert attention from its human rights record.
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