What's happened
The Dakar Rally has been moved from Saudi Arabia for its 2027 edition due to security concerns, with organizers saying the event will be held in a different territory in January 2027 and returned to Saudi Arabia in 2028.
What's behind the headline?
Analysis
- The decision signals heightened security concerns around large international motorsport events in the region.
- The postponement or relocation could affect Saudi Arabia's ambitions to host global sports, and may influence sponsorship and insurance dynamics for future events.
- Expect scrutiny of where the rally may move to next, with Africa or another continent as possibilities; the change could impact local economies in host regions and shift fans’ access and travel plans.
- The timing ahead of the 2028 edition could be used by organizers to calibrate security measures and ensure a high-profile return, leveraging the event’s historic roots in Paris-to-Dakar lore.
How we got here
The Dakar Rally has been hosted in Saudi Arabia since 2020. Organizers say the 2027 event will be held in a different territory, with the location to be announced soon, and that the rally will return to Saudi Arabia for its 50th edition in 2028 amid the ongoing regional security situation.
Our analysis
AP News reports that the rally will be held in a different territory to be announced later, with a planned return to Saudi Arabia in 2028. The New Arab also quotes ASO statements confirming the one-off nature of the decision and mentions ongoing regional attacks linked to Houthis.
Go deeper
- Where will the Dakar Rally move to for 2027, and when will that location be announced?
- What impacts will this relocation have on Saudi Arabia’s sports strategy and on fans planning to travel?
- Will the rally's return in 2028 be accompanied by heightened security assurances?
More on these topics
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Yemen - Country in the Middle East
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is the second-largest Arab sovereign state in the peninsula, occupying 527,970 square kilometres.
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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Country in the Middle East
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a country in Western Asia constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula.
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Amaury Sport Organisation - Sport promoting company
The Amaury Sport Organisation is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events.
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Dakar Rally - Off-road rally raid
The Dakar Rally is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the