Dakar Rally 2027 Pulled From Saudi Arabia as Regional Conflict Deepens

The 2027 Dakar Rally will not take place in Saudi Arabia, organisers announced, citing "recent developments in the region." The event, among the most famous and demanding off-road races in the world, is scheduled for January.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Amaury Sport Organisation and the Saudi Motorsport Company said the rally will be staged "in a different territory." They said the new location will be revealed in the "coming days." The two bodies also confirmed a planned return to Saudi Arabia in 2028.

Saudi Arabia has been the host of the Dakar since 2020. Specialist race media have reported that Morocco and Spain are under consideration as replacements. A move to Morocco would bring the event back to Africa for the first time since 2007.

The rally began as a race from Paris to Dakar, the capital of Senegal. It was called off at short notice in 2008 because of security concerns in North Africa. It later moved to South America and then to Saudi Arabia. Organisers say they want the 2028 edition in Saudi Arabia to mark the rally's 50th running.

Organisers had initially hoped to keep the 2027 race in the kingdom by designing a new route in the north of the country. According to the report, the latest strikes made that impossible. They include a series of attacks this month on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which killed 18 people and injured hundreds more.

The Dakar is the latest sporting event to leave Saudi Arabia this year as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran and deadly Houthi attacks on the kingdom. The Formula One grand prix in Jeddah was cancelled, and the Bahrain race was called off and later rescheduled under the same name in Malaysia. The final round of the World Rally Championship in Saudi Arabia next month has been scrapped as well.

An exhibition tennis event in Saudi Arabia that was due to include Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev has been postponed until late December. The WTA Finals, which had been planned for Riyadh next month, will instead be played at Indian Wells, California.

The final two Formula One races of the season, in Qatar on November 29 and Abu Dhabi on December 6, remain on the calendar, as does next month's Qatar MotoGP. All three are reportedly the subject of intense internal debate.

In Yemen, fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters has intensified on several fronts in recent weeks, deepening a humanitarian crisis. The war escalated sharply last month when the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast from forces loyal to the internationally recognised government.

Saudi Arabia leads a coalition backing the Yemeni government forces. The Houthi attacks have been a heavy blow to the world's biggest crude oil exporter, disrupting businesses, airlines and daily life and damaging the kingdom's international image.