Delivering World-Class Sports Events & Mega Tournaments in Saudi Arabia
A comprehensive sports event delivery and legacy optimization framework was developed to support mega tournaments from bid preparation through post-event evaluation. The solution emphasized standardized operational planning, stakeholder coordination, and digital enablement. Legacy planning was embedded from the outset, ensuring infrastructure, workforce skills, and tourism benefits extended beyond event timelines. The framework balanced international compliance requirements with local capabilities, enabling scalable and repeatable event delivery across different sports categories.
Key elements of the approach included:
- Conducted event readiness assessments covering venues, operations, and workforce capacity
- Designed standardized operational playbooks for mega tournaments
- Established cross-stakeholder coordination mechanisms
- Integrated digital ticketing, crowd analytics, and access management tools
- Developed volunteer recruitment and training programs
- Embedded post-event legacy and asset utilization planning
- Defined performance metrics covering safety, attendance, and economic impact
This ensured consistent delivery quality across events.
Recommendations (≥800 characters, incl. bullet points)
The following actions were recommended:
- Establish permanent national event delivery units
- Standardize venue certification and readiness assessments
- Expand digital crowd and security analytics
- Strengthen tourism and hospitality integration
- Develop long-term post-event utilization strategies
- Invest in national volunteer and workforce development programs
These measures aimed to position Saudi Arabia as a leading global sports events hub.
The engagement improved operational efficiency and outcomes across hosted events. Event preparation timelines were reduced by approximately 20–25%, while incident rates related to crowd flow and access declined by 30%. Visitor satisfaction scores increased, with repeat attendance rising by an estimated 15%. Post-event infrastructure utilization improved significantly, reducing idle asset risks and supporting sustained tourism and local economic activity valued in the hundreds of millions of SAR over multiple event cycles.
