Kazakhstan Almaty Named Host City of the 2029 Asian Winter Games

The Kazakhstan 2029 Asian Winter Games will take place in Almaty after the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) officially reassigned hosting rights from Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Trojena resort. On February 5, 2026, the Host City Contract was signed in Milan, Italy, during a ceremony held alongside the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The agreement was signed by Gennady Golovkin, President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, and Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the OCA. This tenth edition of the Asian Winter Games now returns to a city that already proved its capability when it co-hosted the event in 2011.

Almaty’s selection reflects a growing preference among international sporting bodies for host cities with established infrastructure and a proven record of delivering major events. For architects, urban planners, and sports facility designers, the decision offers valuable lessons on how existing venues can be adapted for continental competitions without massive new construction budgets.

Why NEOM’s Trojena Lost the 2029 Winter Asian Games

The 2029 winter Asian games were originally awarded to Trojena, a planned mountain tourism resort within Saudi Arabia’s NEOM megacity, at the 41st OCA General Assembly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in October 2022. Trojena was envisioned as the first major outdoor skiing destination on the Arabian Peninsula, with a masterplan by architecture firm LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture). The resort was supposed to feature a ski village, indoor ice sports venues, and a large man-made freshwater lake.

However, by January 2026, the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) and the OCA jointly confirmed that the Trojena site could not meet the 2029 deadline. According to the Ministry of Sport, the complexity of the required infrastructure, including what reports described as a “desalination-to-snow” pipeline, proved too ambitious for the compressed timeline. Construction delays across the broader NEOM gigaproject compounded the problem, as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) began reassessing several large-scale development plans amid rising costs.

The OCA and Saudi officials described the change as a result of “extensive consultations” reflecting “a shared strategic commitment to the long-term and sustainable development of winter sports.” No single reason was cited publicly, though multiple sources pointed to construction readiness as the core issue. Saudi Arabia has since reframed the postponement as a strategic deferment, with plans to potentially target the 2033 edition once Trojena becomes operational.

Almaty’s Existing Sports Infrastructure for the Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan

A major reason the OCA turned to Almaty is the city’s robust portfolio of existing winter sports venues. The asian winter games in Kazakhstan will rely almost entirely on facilities that are already built and operational, a significant advantage given the roughly three-year preparation window.

According to reporting by The Astana Times, Almaty and the surrounding Almaty Region already possess most of the infrastructure required for the standard Winter Asian Games program. Key venues include:

Mountain and Snow Sport Venues

The Shymbulak Alpine Resort, located about 25 kilometers south of the city center in the Zailiysky Alatau mountain range, is Central Asia’s largest ski resort. Sitting at an elevation between 2,260 and 3,180 meters, it offers 20 kilometers of slopes served by nine lifts. Shymbulak hosted alpine skiing events during the 2011 Asian Winter Games and was part of Almaty’s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Additional alpine and freestyle competitions could be held at the Oi-Qaragai and Tabagan mountain resorts nearby. Cross-country skiing and biathlon events are expected to use the Almaty Region’s dedicated stadium for those disciplines.

Ice Sport Venues

The Medeu (Medeo) Ice Arena, a high-altitude open-air skating rink at 1,691 meters, is one of the most iconic winter sports facilities in Central Asia. For ice hockey, figure skating, and short-track speed skating, Almaty has three indoor arenas with training rinks: Almaty Arena, Halyk Arena, and the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace. The Sunkar Ski Jumping Complex rounds out the available facilities.

Key Venues at a Glance

The following table summarizes the primary venues expected to host competitions during the asian winter games 2029:

The one notable gap is a covered oval speed skating rink. Modern international standards require an indoor facility for this discipline, which Almaty does not currently have. Organizers may either build a new venue, allow outdoor events as an exception, or relocate speed skating to Astana’s Alau Ice Palace, which hosted the discipline during the 2011 Games.

Almaty’s Track Record: 2011 Asian Winter Games and 2017 Universiade

This is not Almaty’s first time on the continental winter sports stage. The city co-hosted the asian winter games in 2029’s predecessor event, the 2011 edition, alongside Astana (then known as the capital). That experience generated much of the infrastructure that still serves the city today. Six years later, Almaty staged the 2017 Winter Universiade, further demonstrating its organizational capacity for multi-sport international competitions.

Almaty also bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, narrowly losing to Beijing in the IOC vote. That bidding process left behind detailed feasibility studies, venue upgrade plans, and transport assessments that remain relevant for 2029 planning. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports has confirmed that the 2029 Games will rely on current facilities, stating that existing sports complexes can accommodate all disciplines in the program.

The Asia Winter Games 2029 Sports Program

The official list of sports for the asia winter games 2029 has not yet been finalized, but based on past editions and the available facilities, the program is expected to include alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, short-track speed skating, ski jumping, ski mountaineering, snowboarding, and speed skating. Ski mountaineering, which debuted as a new Olympic sport at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, could be staged at Almaty’s mountain resorts.

All of these disciplines require specialized, climate-resilient, and high-capacity facilities. Almaty’s continental climate, characterized by cold winters with reliable snowfall from November through April, provides natural conditions that are well suited for outdoor winter sports. This stands in stark contrast to the artificial snow infrastructure that would have been necessary at NEOM’s desert location.

NEOM 2029 Asian Winter Games: What Went Wrong at Trojena

The neom 2029 asian winter games plan was, by any measure, one of the most ambitious proposals in the history of multi-sport events. Trojena sits in the Tabuk Province of northwestern Saudi Arabia, where elevations reach around 2,600 meters. The masterplan envisioned year-round mountain tourism with a ski village, an outdoor ski slope relying on artificial snow, and indoor ice facilities. A proposed two-cluster model would have separated snow sports from ice sports across distinct venue groups.

Several factors contributed to the timeline failure. The scale of construction required for Trojena was enormous, from the freshwater lake and snow-generation systems to athlete housing and transportation networks. Broader cost reassessments across NEOM, including the high-profile The Line linear city project, diverted resources and attention. Before the OCA confirmed Almaty, both South Korea’s Gangwon Province and China were reportedly considered as potential replacement hosts.

Saudi officials have indicated that the kingdom will continue hosting smaller-scale winter sports events to develop athletes and technical staff, potentially targeting the 2033 Asian Winter Games once Trojena is completed.

A Broader Trend: Reusing Infrastructure for Global Sporting Events

Almaty’s selection for the winter asian games 2029 fits within a broader shift in how international sporting bodies approach venue planning. The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics prioritized temporary structures and existing venues over new construction. The Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, according to ArchDaily’s coverage, became the first edition officially held across two primary cities, distributing 15 sports venues between Milan and the Italian Alps with a strong emphasis on reusing existing facilities.

The International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5 framework explicitly encourages host cities to minimize new permanent construction and maximize the use of temporary or pre-existing venues. While the Asian Winter Games operate under the OCA rather than the IOC, the philosophical alignment is clear. Almaty’s proposal to host an event of this scale with minimal new building represents exactly the kind of approach that organizers are increasingly favoring.

For illustrarch.com readers interested in sustainable sports architecture, this trend raises important questions about adaptive reuse, retrofit design, and how aging Soviet-era sports facilities can be modernized to meet current international standards while preserving their operational value.

What the Asian Winter Games in 2029 Mean for Almaty’s Urban Development

Beyond the competition venues themselves, hosting the asian winter games in 2029 is expected to accelerate several urban development priorities in Almaty. Officials have indicated that preparations will focus on modernizing transport links between the city center and mountain venue clusters, upgrading athlete housing, and improving accessibility at existing sports complexes.

Almaty was Kazakhstan’s capital until 1997, when the government relocated to Astana. It remains the country’s largest city, with a population of roughly two million. Located in southeastern Kazakhstan near the border with Kyrgyzstan, the city sits at the foot of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains. Its urban fabric blends Soviet-era architecture with contemporary developments, and the city received a Special Recognition Award for Tourism Innovation and Urban Transformation at the Global Tourism Forum 2025 in Brussels, according to Travel Tomorrow.

Investments in green spaces, pedestrian infrastructure, cycling networks, and digital tourism services have already been transforming the city into a year-round destination. The 2029 Games offer a catalyst to continue and accelerate this work, with expanded international air connectivity and visa-free access for many travelers supporting the tourism case.

Looking Ahead: Almaty 2029 and the Future of Winter Sports in Asia

The 2029 Asian Winter Games in Almaty will bring together athletes from across East, Central, South, and West Asia in disciplines ranging from alpine skiing to figure skating and ice hockey. Participation in the Winter Asian Games has expanded steadily over recent editions, reflecting growing investment in winter sports programs even in countries without traditional cold-climate sporting cultures.

For Kazakhstan, the event is both a return and a statement. The Kazakhstan Asian Winter Games legacy, dating back to 2011, reaffirms the country’s position as a regional winter sports hub, supported by natural geography, established training centers, and organizational experience. For the OCA, the pivot from Trojena to Almaty underscores a pragmatic balancing act between ambitious visions for new destinations and the operational certainty that established cities provide.

The official sports program, venue assignments, and detailed competition schedule are expected to be announced in the coming months as organizers finalize preparations.

Venue availability and event scheduling are subject to confirmation by the Olympic Council of Asia and the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan. Competition details may change as official planning progresses.