Dakar Rally 2027 moves out of Saudi Arabia after airport strikes
Organizers confirmed the January race will move to an undisclosed location, with a return to the kingdom planned for 2028.
By Nadia Rahman ·
The Amaury Sport Organisation and the Saudi Motorsport Company confirmed on Sunday that the 2027 Dakar Rally will not be held in Saudi Arabia. The joint statement cited recent regional developments as the reason for the change. The new host territory has not yet been named, but officials said details will be released in the coming days.
Saudi Arabia has hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020. The event is scheduled to take place in January. Race media have reported that Morocco and Spain are being considered as alternatives. A move to Morocco would return the competition to Africa for the first time since 2007.
The decision follows a series of strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh earlier this month. These attacks killed 18 people and injured hundreds more. Organizers had previously tried to keep the 2027 race in Saudi Arabia by planning a new route through the northern part of the country. The recent violence made that plan unworkable.
The rally originally ran from Paris to Dakar, Senegal. It was canceled in 2008 due to security concerns in North Africa before moving to South America and then to the Middle East. Organizers intend for the 2028 edition in Saudi Arabia to mark the event's 50th running.
The Dakar is the latest major sporting event to leave Saudi Arabia this year due to the US-Israel war on Iran and Houthi attacks. The Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah was canceled, and the Bahrain race was rescheduled to Malaysia. The final World Rally Championship round in Saudi Arabia next month has also been scrapped.
An exhibition tennis event featuring Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev has been postponed to late December. The WTA Finals, originally planned for Riyadh, will now be held in Indian Wells, California. The final two Formula One races of the season, scheduled for Qatar and Abu Dhabi in November and December, remain on the calendar despite internal debate.
Fighting in Yemen has intensified in recent weeks, with Houthi forces seizing strategic territory along the Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia leads a coalition supporting the Yemeni government. The ongoing conflict has disrupted airlines, businesses, and daily life in the kingdom, which is the world's largest crude oil exporter.
Source: Al Jazeera
