Saudi Arabia wants to host the Olympics
As Qatar is set on hosting the World Cup this November, its much larger neighbor Saudi Arabia would like to take on the only global sporting event of comparable size, the Olympics, calling it the “ultimate goal” of its sports strategy.
The country has leaned into sports as part of its efforts to diversify its economy beyond oil, though some have charged that the efforts are geared toward “sportswashing” Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
Beijing spent a reported $8.8 billion on the 2022 Winter Olympics with Germany also showing interest in hosting the games.
Saudi Arabia has attracted attention as the backer of LIV Golf, which has lured golfers with paychecks often in excess of $100 million, but its sports and gaming portfolio has become quite extensive.
The country’s Public Investment Fund owns a controlling stake in Premier League team Newcastle United and also hosted its first Formula 1 Grand Prix last year.
The country is hosting next year’s World Combat Games, plus the 2034 Asian Games, which Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said could be a precursor to the Olympics.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia became the first to approve Microsoft’s $68.7 billion merger with Activision Blizzard. The PIF holds a $2.9 billion stake in Activision Blizzard, its second-largest holding among its public companies at 7.2% of its portfolio.
It also holds a $1.9 billion stake in Electronic Arts (4.8% of its public holdings) and a $1.4 billion stake in Take-Two Interactive (3.4%).
