The internet can turn a concept sketch into a global sensation. In late October 2025, millions of people across X, TikTok, and YouTube watched a video showing what appeared to be a floating football stadium — a glowing bowl suspended 350 metres above the desert, nestled within Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city, NEOM: The Line. The captions were breathless: this was, they claimed, the NEOM Sky Stadium, a billion-dollar venue for the 2034 FIFA World Cup.It looked like the future of football. It wasn’t.
The Fact: A NEOM stadium is planned — but not in the sky
Saudi Arabia’s official bid book for the 2034 FIFA World Cup lists 15 stadiums across Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Abha, and NEOM. One of them, the NEOM Stadium, is described as being “more than 350 metres above ground level, within The Line.”That last phrase — “within The Line” — is what caused all the confusion.The stadium isn’t floating on a tower. It’s designed to be inside The Line’s vertical structure, part of a multi-level megacity that stacks entire neighbourhoods in layers. The stadium will occupy the fourth and fifth levels of this vast mirrored structure, making it high-altitude, but still fully enclosed.As ESPN reported, “the actual stadium proposed for construction in NEOM has been officially listed as one of the 15 host stadiums being either renovated or built from scratch for the FIFA 2034 World Cup for almost a year, and the Saudis do plan for it to be 350 metres above the ground. That is because they plan for it to form part of The Line, a proposed smart, green city in NEOM that will eventually extend in linear fashion for over 100 miles across the northwest Saudi province of Tabuk by 2045, powered entirely by renewable energy.”Planned to seat around 46,000 spectators, the venue will be powered entirely by renewable energy and surrounded by a sports and wellness district, complete with hotels, apartments, and an electric transport network. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027 and finish between 2032 and 2039, though The Line itself remains in its early stages of development.
The Fiction: The viral “sky stadium” videos are AI-generated
The viral clips of a glowing stadium hovering above the desert are not official footage. They were created by AI artists and CGI design accounts using programs such as Midjourney and Unreal Engine, taking NEOM’s futuristic imagery and exaggerating it for dramatic effect.Architectural analysts have pointed out the visual giveaways: lighting that doesn’t behave naturally, impossible reflections, and looping crowds that repeat in perfect synchrony. Even the drone-like camera sweeps in these videos defy real-world physics.NEOM’s official social media channels have not commented on these viral clips, and no government or FIFA outlet has ever released or endorsed them. The denials have instead come from journalists and design experts who confirmed that no such renders appear in the official World Cup bid or in NEOM’s verified materials.
Fact vs Fiction
Several viral claims have blurred the line between fact and fantasy. The notion that Saudi Arabia is building a floating arena is false — official documents make clear the stadium is built within The Line’s vertical city, not on top of it. The circulating videos aren’t real construction footage; they’re AI-created visuals shared by fan-art accounts. Some users claimed Saudi officials had released these renders, but there’s no public statement or official post confirming or denying them. And despite online speculation, no construction has started; the project remains in its design phase, with The Line itself still under early development.
The Bigger Picture
Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup forms part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030, a massive plan to transform the Kingdom into a global hub for sport, tourism, and technology. Projects such as The Line, Qiddiya, and New Murabba symbolise this futuristic ambition.Yet these megaprojects also face heavy criticism. Human-rights groups have documented forced evictions, executions of displaced tribespeople, and labour exploitation linked to NEOM’s construction. For many, the shimmering renderings of desert utopias mask a harsher reality on the ground.So while the AI-generated “stadium in the sky” dazzles online, the real story is more grounded — a mix of breathtaking ambition, architectural experimentation, and moral controversy.
The Bottom Line
Saudi Arabia’s “Stadium in the Sky” exists only on screens. There is a NEOM Stadium planned for the 2034 World Cup — a high-altitude arena built within a vertical city, not floating above it. The viral clips showing a glowing bowl suspended over the desert are digital illusions, not construction updates. Like much of NEOM itself, the stadium represents a dream halfway between technology and theatre — where aspiration meets illusion, and the future of football is still being rendered.
