| Host city | Almaty, Kazakhstan |
|---|---|
| Main venue | Almaty Arena (expected) |
| Summer | |
| Winter | |
Neom 2033 → | |
The2029 Asian Winter Games (Kazakh:2029 жылғы қысқы Азия ойындары,romanized: 2029 jylğy qysqy Azia oiyndary;Russian:Зимние Азиатские игры 2029 года,romanized: Zimniye Aziatskiye igry 2029 goda), officially known as the10th Asian Winter Games, and commonly known asAlmaty 2029 (Kazakh:Алматы 2029), will be the tenth edition of theAsian Winter Games, apan-Asianwinter multi-sport event to be held inAlmaty, Kazakhstan.[1]
Saudi Arabia's planned city ofNeom was originally elected as the host city at the 41st OCA General Assembly on 4 October 2022 inPhnom Penh, Cambodia.[2][3][4][5] This would have been the first Asian Winter Games held in Saudi Arabia, as well as in theArabian Peninsula. According to the original plan, sports would have taken place inTrojena, a mountain tourism destination under construction in Neom. Trojena was expected to become the first major outdoor skiing destination in the Arabian Peninsula upon its originally scheduled completion in 2026.[6][7] Trojena's ski village, as well as indoor venues for the ice sports, could be used. The final program for the Games had not yet been decided, but it was expected for Neom to have at least 47 medal events planned.[8] It would have also been the first-ever winter sporting event held in an Arabic-speaking country. However, on 24 January 2026, theOlympic Council of Asia announced that the games would be postponed to a later date which to be announced in due course.[9] On 2 February 2026, the Olympic Council of Asia announced that the Games would be held inAlmaty, Kazakhstan. The OCA and the government of Kazakhstan signed the hosting contract on 5 February 2026 during the2026 Winter Olympics inMilan, Italy; Almaty previously bid for the2022 Winter Olympics and hosted the2017 Winter Universiade and the2011 Asian Winter Games.[1]
Amidst increasingglobal-warming concerns, the selection of Neom as the host city of the Games raised multiple issues ranging from the high temperatures in the desert, the energy impacts and detour of local water resources to the construction of artificial ski slopes from scratch. Raphael Le Magoariec, a political scientist and specialist in the geopolitics of sports in thePersian Gulf region, said thatRiyadh "mainly wants to promote Neom its city of the future."FIS secretary generalMichel Vion expressed surprise at the decision of theOlympic Council of Asia, and Olympic downhill silver medalistJohan Clarey said, “it is awful for our sport."[10]
On 22 August 2025, it was reported that Trojena was suffering from construction delays and increasing budget deficits, and may potentially not be complete in time for the Games. Saudi officials have considered holding back hosting until 2033, once construction is complete.[11] One of the contractors for Trojena, Eversendai Corporation Bhd, acknowledged that the company and its workers were under early-stage challenges, potentially leading to delays if not worked around.[12] Despite this, the Olympic Council of Asia has stated that work was advancing "on schedule", and was "pleased with the strong progress being made", and was monitoring the "on-schedule work from the local organising committee".[13]
If Trojena was not planned to be complete in time, the Olympic Council of Asia had contacted theKorean Sport & Olympic Committee of the possibility of replacing Neom as host of the 2029 Games.[14]Gangwon Province in South Korea has previously hosted the1999 Asian Winter Games, the2018 Winter Olympics and the2024 Winter Youth Olympics. TheChinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has offered support, possibly indicating intent to replace Neom as host.[15]Harbin in China hosted the most recent Asian Winter Games in2025. Eventually, on 2 February 2026, the Olympic Council of Asia announced that Almaty would replace Neom as host.[1]
| Preceded by | Asian Winter Games Almaty X Asian Winter Games (2029) | Succeeded by |
| Summer Games |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Games | ||
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