Saudi officials sought on Friday to project that it was business as usual in the country, saying preparations to host Asia’s premier soccer event in January were on track.
But the situation is far from normal in the kingdom, where a spate of events have been canceled or postponed in recent days because of escalating attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. A cycling championship. A golf tournament. A diplomatic summit with Europe.
The Houthis’ increasingly brazen strikes in recent weeks have undermined efforts by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, to transform the country into a hub for global business and tourism and diversify the oil-dependent economy.
For years, hosting international sports and business events has been a cornerstone of those efforts. Staying on schedule can demonstrate resilience, analysts say, but cancellations risk sapping confidence in the kingdom’s ability to ensure security. The main international airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, remains closed after a deadly strike there last week.
On Friday, the Saudi organizing committee for the Asian Cup, the continent’s premier soccer championship, said in a statement that preparations to hold the competition in Saudi Arabia in January were proceeding as planned. The committee pledged to deliver “a tournament that reflects Saudi Arabia’s ambitions,” even as the metastasizing conflict with the Houthis is threatening the stability on which those ambitions depend.
The Saudi Cycling Federation said in a statement on Friday that the Urban Cycling World Championships, scheduled for next month, would not take place. This week, the Misk Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Prince Mohammed, canceled its global forum for young leaders, citing organizational and logistical challenges.
The Asian Tour and Saudi organizers said in a statement on Thursday that the annual Saudi International golf tournament scheduled to take place in late November had been postponed. The statement did not say when the tournament would be held. The previous day, organizers of the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition, an event featuring stars like Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz that was supposed to be held in Riyadh next week, said in a statement that it had been moved to December.
A summit scheduled to be held in the Saudi capital this month between European Union leaders and the Gulf Cooperation Council, a group of six Gulf Arab states, to discuss a trade deal has also been postponed, European officials said on Thursday. The Gulf Cooperation Council cited Houthi threats and the airport shutdown for the decision.
The attacks and cancellations have cast a cloud over the Future Investment Initiative, Saudi Arabia’s marquee investment conference, which is scheduled for Oct. 26-29. The event, known as “Davos in the Desert,” is a platform for Prince Mohammed’s economic ambitions that attracts global leaders and top business executives to Riyadh.
The event has not been postponed. Its organizers said in a statement last week that “comprehensive security measures will be in place at Riyadh’s airports, our conference venues and official hotels.” Conference officials can coordinate transportation for participants, they added.
But many of those who had signed up for the event have canceled, according to two people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to share details publicly. Some of those who intend to participate will travel through Bahrain International Airport in Manama, roughly 300 miles by road to Riyadh, they added. Organizers are also discussing options like having more attendees participate by video conference.
The WPC Energy Congress, an oil industry event held last week in Riyadh, offered a warning of the potential disruption for events held in the kingdom during the conflict. Several major oil executives canceled their appearances after the attacks on the international airport. Some government officials participated remotely.
Houthi attacks on airports in Riyadh and other cities in the kingdom’s south and east this month have killed 19 people and wounded almost 400 others, according to Saudi officials.
The Houthis, who are armed and financed by Iran, say they are responding to Saudi airstrikes in Yemen that have ratcheted up in recent weeks to support a counteroffensive by the internationally recognized government there. The escalating conflict has threatened global energy supplies and widened the regional fallout from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Saudi Arabia has turned to its Red Sea ports to export its oil and avoid the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been throttled since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February. But that alternative route has also come under threat after the Houthis seized swaths of Yemen’s Red Sea coast last month and attacked Saudi ships near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, at the southern end of the Red Sea.
The Saudi air campaign in Yemen has killed dozens of people, according to Houthi officials, and deepened a devastating humanitarian crisis in one of the world’s poorest countries.
On Thursday, the Houthis struck the Yemeni government’s headquarters in Aden, killing five people and wounding at least 16, health officials said. Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani of Yemen was unharmed, according to the Yemeni information minister.
Humza Jilani contributed reporting from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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