Skiing in the desert state: Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. The deserts and mountains would become "the playground for winter sports," the Asian Olympic Committee reported on Tuesday. As the umbrella organization announced, the city of Neom was unanimously elected at the 41st General Assembly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The Gulf state, which has been criticized for human rights violations, is trying to improve its reputation with lucrative sporting events. With a lot of money, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman brings top-class sporting events to the country, including Formula 1, boxing, horse racing and golf. Sports Minister Prince Abdulasis bin Turki al-Faisal wrote that the decision of the Asian Olympic Committee is a further step in establishing the kingdom as one of the leading countries in sport.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia announced the construction of the megacity Neom on the Red Sea, which, with an area of ​​26,500 square kilometers, is to be larger than Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The city is being built in the northwest of the country on the borders of Egypt and Israel, but has yet to be completed. Air taxis will also be on the road in Neom. It is planned that the mountain region of Trojena, which is part of the mega-city, will be converted into a winter sports area. The Winter Games are to take place there in 2029. However, there will only be artificial snow there.

In the gallery: The futuristic city of Neom is set to house nine million people in a single building - this is what it should look like.