For snow events, it is difficult to imagine a more spectacular gap than that which separates the Japanese powder snow of Sapporo, site of the first (1986) and last (2017) edition of these Games, and the mountainous desert of Trojena, 50 kilometers away of the Red Sea coast, which has never seen a single skier.

"It's dramatic for our sport," lamented Olympic downhill vice-champion Johan Clarey on RMC on Tuesday evening, while the secretary general of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, Michel Vion, said he was "surprised of the decision of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

At the end of 2021, Dubai hosted qualifying slaloms for the Beijing Winter Olympics in the refrigerated dome of a huge shopping center, by 30°C outside, already pushing back the boundaries of alpine skiing.

But everything is questionable in the Saudi project in the midst of global warming, from the expected temperatures to the energy impact, through the diversion of local water resources and the artificialization of still virgin slopes.

"Announcement Effect"

Seeing Saudi Arabia advance its pawns on the sports map is in itself anything but a surprise after its investments in Formula 1, cycling, or football, via the takeover of the English club Newcastle and a candidacy in preparation for co-organize the Mondial-2030.

But each project pursues a distinct objective, and that of the Asian Games is "above all economic", explains to AFP Raphaël Le Magoariec, specialist in the geopolitics of sport in the Gulf countries at the University of Tours.

If the rivalry with the Qatari and Emirati neighbors, regional pioneers of sports diplomacy, remains in the background, Ryad "mainly wants to highlight its city of the future", Neom, underlines the researcher.

This complex of several hundred billion dollars, carried by the powerful crown prince Mohamed ben Salmane, is for the moment only a gleaming model.

But its promoters are aiming for an inauguration in 2026, with ski slopes open all year round, an artificial lake, mansions and luxury hotels.

"There are big unknowns on the snow, and even on the realization of the whole project", warns Raphaël Le Magoariec.

From a climatic point of view, the extremely low rainfall (less than 50 mm per year according to various sources) excludes the hypothesis of natural snow cover, even in the middle of winter.

But, "at this stage", this attribution constitutes "above all an announcement effect", to be analyzed "in a completely regional context", indicates Mr. Le Magoariec.

"Offset" instances

By hosting the Asian Games, the kingdom "does not seek to speak to a European public" but to the wealthy classes of the Middle East, Russia, India and China, in a "neoliberal logic and devoid of reflection on the environment or human rights", says the doctoral student.

On the other hand, the choice of the Olympic Council of Asia may seem surprising, as sports bodies increasingly stake their reputation on the social and ecological impact of their competitions, gauged with increasing precision by researchers and NGOs.

But, for lack of another candidate, "the OCA cannot be too observant, and decided that it was better to go to Saudi Arabia rather than nowhere", summarizes Pim Verschuuren, specialist in geopolitics of sport at the university. of Rennes II.

Respectively occupied by the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and 2022 in Beijing, Japan and China have abandoned the Asian Winter Games after hosting six of the first eight editions, while the OCA "needs" host countries "to exist politically and economically".

The candidacy crisis goes beyond Asia, as the reluctance of the populations in the face of the cost and the gigantism of major sporting events is now causing a number of applications to fall through, a particularly acute challenge for winter competitions and their already restricted geography.

"The whole question is to know which organization will be the first to reduce the size and impact of its event to enter the sustainability criteria", asks Pim Verschuuren.

But the authorities remain "heavy liners, which will take time to change", notes the academic, at the risk of a prolonged "lag" with the climate emergency.

© 2022 AFP