Dakar Rally 2027 Moves to New Territory as Riyadh Conflict Escalates

The 2027 Dakar Rally will be held in a new location, organizers confirmed on Sunday. The Amaury Sport Organization and the Saudi Motorsport Company stated in a joint release that the event will be staged in a different territory. They indicated that the specific destination will be announced in the coming days. The two groups also confirmed that the race is scheduled to return to Saudi Arabia in 2028.

The decision follows a series of strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month. The attacks killed 18 people and injured hundreds of others. Organizers had previously attempted to design a new route in northern Saudi Arabia to keep the 2027 race in the country. They determined that the latest security developments made that plan impossible. The event is scheduled to take place in January.

Saudi Arabia has hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020. Specialist race media have reported that Morocco and Spain are currently under consideration as replacement hosts. A move to Morocco would mark the first time the event has been held in Africa since 2007. The rally originally ran from Paris to Dakar, Senegal, before moving to South America and then to the Middle East.

This relocation is part of a wider impact on major sporting events in the region due to the US-Israel war on Iran and Houthi attacks. The Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah was cancelled earlier this year. The Bahrain race was also called off and later rescheduled in Malaysia. The final round of the World Rally Championship in Saudi Arabia, scheduled for next month, has 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 held in 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. The Qatar MotoGP race next month is also still scheduled. These remaining events are reportedly subject to intense internal debate among organizers and sponsors.

Fighting in Yemen has intensified in recent weeks, deepening a humanitarian crisis. The Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast from government forces last month. Saudi Arabia leads a coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government. The ongoing conflict has disrupted businesses, airlines, and daily life in the kingdom, which is the world's largest crude oil exporter.