Dakar Rally organizers relocate 2027 race from Saudi Arabia

Amaury Sport Organisation and the Saudi Motorsport Company announced on Sunday that the 2027 Dakar Rally will not be held in Saudi Arabia. The organizers stated the event will instead take place in a different territory, with the specific location to be revealed in the coming days. They also confirmed that the rally is scheduled to return to Saudi Arabia in 2028.

The decision follows a series of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh earlier this month. These strikes killed 18 people and injured hundreds. Organizers had previously planned a new route in the northern part of the country to keep the 2027 race in the kingdom, but the recent violence made that plan impossible.

Saudi Arabia has hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020. Specialist race media have reported that Morocco and Spain are being considered as the new host. A move to Morocco would mark the event's return to Africa for the first time since 2007. The organizers aim to use the 2028 edition in Saudi Arabia to mark the rally's 50th running.

The Dakar Rally is the latest major sporting event to leave Saudi Arabia this year due to the US-Israel war on Iran and Houthi attacks on the kingdom. The Formula One grand prix in Jeddah was cancelled, and the Bahrain race was rescheduled to Malaysia. The final round of the World Rally Championship in Saudi Arabia next month has also been scrapped.

An exhibition tennis event featuring Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev has been postponed until late December. The WTA Finals, originally planned for Riyadh next month, will now be played at Indian Wells, California. The final two Formula One races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi remain on the calendar, as does the Qatar MotoGP event next month.

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi fighters has intensified in recent weeks. The conflict escalated last month when the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia leads a coalition supporting the Yemeni government, and the attacks have disrupted businesses, airlines, and daily life in the kingdom.