Saudi Arabia's Viral Will Build The 2034 World Cup Stadium Over The Skybang Building

JAKARTA - Social media has been busy this week with a viral video showing a football stadium perched on a skyscraper, along with claims that the stadium will be built as one of the venues for the 2034 World Cup matches in Saudi Arabia.

An unofficial short video meant to describe the concept is said to reveal plans for the construction of an arena worth US$1 billion with 46.000 seats in a new futuristic city, Neom, which will stand tall on a specially built skyscraper, 350 meters (1.150 ft) above the ground.

It remains unclear who made it and first shared the video, which has sparked a lot of online joy.

However, it also raises some questions, Will the building be safe and architecturally sturdy? How long is the queue for the elevator after the match?

While the computer-generated clip may convince some people that this is a vision of the future, the reality is science fiction.

The proposed stadium to be built at Neom has been officially listed as one of the 15 host stadiums that were renovated or built from scratch for the 2034 World Cup for nearly a year.

Saudi Arabia does plan to build it as high as 350 meters above the ground. This is because they plan to make it part of The Line, a smart green city proposed in Neom -- which will later stretch linearly for more than 100 miles across Saudi Arabia's northwestern Tabuk Province by 2045, with full power renewable energy.

The Neom Stadium with a capacity of 46.000 spectators will be designed and built through partnerships with Neom, the Ministry of Sports of Saudi Arabia, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with the planned work to begin in 2027 and finish in 2032, two years before the World Cup begins.

Presented as part of the 2034 Saudi Arabia World Cup bidding book (page 107), published by FIFA in November 2024, the Neom project was introduced as the world's most unique stadium with an initial plan to mention a striking landmark in the first district of The Line - which will be built around a large-made marina as a fully functioning part of the city ahead of the tournament.

The plan shows Neom Stadium integrated with the stunning vertical city landscape of The Line and forms the center of what will be a sports-focused environment -- which contains World Cup festival fan parks as well as various hotels, apartments, airports, hospitals, and electric-powered shuttle transportation systems.

Although technically at an altitude of more than 1,000 feet (300 meters), the stadium will occupy the fourth and fifth floors of the dense, five-story The Line megastructure. Thus, it will not be exposed in a dangerous manner to single-sky buildings.

Indeed, the photos that went viral this week have attracted a lot of online attention. However, now Saudi Arabia's real plans to build a megakota as high as 350 meters and along the 100 miles don't seem too far-fetched.