Cyberpunk, anyone? Saudi Arabia unveils futuristic sporting arenas for 2034 FIFA World Cup

[Cal Jeffrey]

Through the looking glass: It feels premature to start thinking about the 2034 FIFA World Cup. While it's still 10 years into the future, it is also only three tournaments away. The presumptive host country, Saudi Arabia, already has plans to build multiple high-tech stadiums for the event. It released concept art of two arenas that look like they belong in a sci-fi video game.

Saudi Arabia has announced plans to construct 11 new soccer stadiums as part of its bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, including the futuristic Neom Stadium. The arena, built in an equally futuristic "smart city," will be over 350 meters above the ground. The artist's depictions look like pure imagination, and they may well be in the end.

The design has a roof featuring polygonal shapes that look like broken glass that create a mirror-like effect inside the stadium (above and below). The architects are shooting for a design run entirely on renewable energy, primarily wind and solar power, with seating capacity for 46,000 fans. The country estimates completion by 2032.

The stadium's design aligns with the aesthetic of The Line, a 106-mile-long linear city characterized by reflective walls, a vertical housing system, high-speed rail, and a commitment to 100% renewable energy. However, The Line has faced significant criticism. The BBC reported that the government authorized the military to use lethal force to clear villages in its path if necessary. There are also concerns about the resources required for its construction.

Saudi Arabia's ambitious plans have raised accusations from human rights advocates of "sportswashing," which refers to using major sporting events to improve a government's reputation and gain positive media attention. The Verge notes that the country faced similar criticism for its plans to host the first Olympic Esports Games.

In addition to Neom Stadium, Saudi Arabia plans to build the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, a three-tiered structure set against a cliff (above), surrounded by colored glass and LED screens. All these plans are still in the render stage, meaning the final structures may differ significantly from the initial designs.

The ambitious nature of these projects and the futuristic and unconventional designs underscores Saudi Arabia's efforts to significantly impact the global stage through the 2034 FIFA World Cup bid. However, the execution of these plans will be closely watched, given the controversies and challenges associated with such large-scale developments. These early renders could easily wind up as pure fantasy.

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Cyberpunk, anyone? Saudi Arabia unveils futuristic sporting arenas for 2034 FIFA World Cup

 

[dangh]

Nah, that's just cool, not impossible. "human" or "women rights" would be impossible for them.

 

[toooooot]

Nah, that's just cool, not impossible. "human" or "women rights" would be impossible for them.

At least they are less barbaric than many other nations from that region.

 

[OortCloud]

At least they are less barbaric than many other nations from that region.

Really? Not sure Jamal Khashoggi would agree with you there. I'd say being chopped up in the Saudi embassy in a foreign country and flown to Saudi Arabia in bin bags is pretty barbaric, especially with direct approval of Mohammed bin Salman (later given immunity by the US). Or indeed, the women who try to flee the regime and one day just disappear. I could go on and on.

 

[toooooot]

Really? Not sure Jamal Khashoggi would agree with you there. I'd say being chopped up in the Saudi embassy in a foreign country and flown to Saudi Arabia in bin bags is pretty barbaric, especially with direct approval of Mohammed bin Salman (later given immunity by the US). Or indeed, the women who try to flee the regime and one day just disappear. I could go on and on.

I said compared to other countries in the region. The man was a threat to their "democracy."
None of that cancel how much Saudis has achieved. And a lot of their achievements were only possible because they are much less barbaric.

 

[OortCloud]

Actually possibly even more morally bankrupt than Saudi Arabia is Fifa - they just chase the money regardless of the regime (or a complete lack of history with Football - AKA Soccer).

 

[takaozo]

If not for Texaco they would be living in tents and still travel the desert by camel.They changed, but just a bit.

 

[emmzo]

I said compared to other countries in the region. The man was a threat to their "democracy."
None of that cancel how much Saudis has achieved. And a lot of their achievements were only possible because they are much less barbaric.

Slavery, yes, slavery was legal in Saudi Arabia up until 1962. They abolished it because of international pressure. Every human rights possible are still violated to this day. Building futuristic hugely expensive projects doesn't change who they are. I believe the only Islamic country from that region, that stands out a bit is Dubai.

 

[Endymio]

Really? Not sure Jamal Khashoggi would agree with you there. I'd say being chopped up in the Saudi embassy in a foreign country and flown to Saudi Arabia in bin bags is pretty barbaric

There are far better reasons to criticize Saudi Arabia than Khashoggi: an ex member of the Saudi Secret Service who had been caught passing secret information to the Muslim Brotherhood, the sworn enemy of his government and employer. Regarding the body disposal, you're hopefully aware that Britain and the US pioneered the field of such evidence-hiding "wetwork", and still lead the world in its use.

As for the country's treatment of women, that's inherent to fundamentalist Shia Islam. Too bad the French Olympics didn't choose to mock that religion, rather than their Last Supper rendition, eh?

 

[Zoneman]

This is crazy. So way I look at this is all goods will be produced say outside this line. The factories, the farms, ECT. So the poor will live outside this LINE, whereas the individuals inside the line will consume only. The jobs inside will just be stores restaurant hospitality ECT. **** this

 

[Axeia]

This is crazy. So way I look at this is all goods will be produced say outside this line. The factories, the farms, ECT. So the poor will live outside this LINE, whereas the individuals inside the line will consume only. The jobs inside will just be stores restaurant hospitality ECT. **** this

Imagine having to get from one end to the other.
Their solution is super fast transport by train, except this train will have so many stops it can never accelerate.
The more you think (or read) about the line the less it makes sense and it doesn't make sense to begin with. The projected costs are also stupidly low so it will either start and stop soon or they'll keep going and bankrupt the nation for a prestige project.

The whole region is full of fancy 3d renders getting green lit whilst drunk on oil money. In a couple of decades they're bound to look back on a history where they had wealth and wasted it all.

 

[passingposeidon]

Imagine having to get from one end to the other.
Their solution is super fast transport by train, except this train will have so many stops it can never accelerate.
The more you think (or read) about the line the less it makes sense and it doesn't make sense to begin with. The projected costs are also stupidly low so it will either start and stop soon or they'll keep going and bankrupt the nation for a prestige project.

The whole region is full of fancy 3d renders getting green lit whilst drunk on oil money. In a couple of decades they're bound to look back on a history where they had wealth and wasted it all.

I'm not advocating for the line, but I don't think the hypothetical transport system would be problematic. You'd have faster lines with less stops, and then smaller regional/district lines with more stops. That's not different to our current systems, except because everything is travelling in a straight line it would be incredibly fast and efficient. You should be able to have bullet trains running with say, 4 stops in total, and then slower trains running shorter distances.

It will never get built anyway.

 

[Endymio]

Imagine having to get from one end to the other. Their solution is super fast transport by train, except this train will have so many stops it can never accelerate.

The total transit time end-to-end is 20 minutes. In your average city, traveling by car with a red light stop potentially every block, it can easily take 20 minutes to travel 1/10 as far.

Furthermore, you've missed the point of the design itself. With modules designed with integrated housing, shops, and employment all together, the need to transit "one end to another" would be an extremely rare case. In Saudi Arabia, where the bulk of families are single-earner, individuals should be able to walk to nearly everything they need.

Still, as @passingposeidon has already noted, it's doubtful it'll ever be built in its present form.

The whole region is full of fancy 3d renders getting green lit whilst drunk on oil money. In a couple of decades they're bound to look back on a history where they had wealth and wasted it all.

The bulk of funding for Neom is to come from foreign investors, not state funds, and is intended to vastly diversify the economy *away* from its dependence on oil.