Amid coronavirus chaos, Saudi Arabia says it's holding a mega sports event next month

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that it will stage the mega "Saudi Games" in March in what is being deemed as its latest in a series of moves to exhibit that the kingdom has moved on from its traditional lifestyle. 

The Games, set to be participated in by as many as 6,000 athletes, will be held in Riyadh between March 23 and April 1 and will feature 40 sports -- including swimming, athletics, archery, badminton and basketball -- that will be open to men and women, officials said.

"I (am) proud to launch the biggest sporting event in the kingdom´s history," said the Saudi sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki.

The top prize reserved for gold medalists is one million riyals ($267,000), organisers said.

The announcement came a day after King Salman upgraded the government body overseeing sports to a full ministry, reflecting its growing importance in the kingdom´s reform efforts.

It comes amid growing fears over the coronavirus epidemic, while Saudi Arabia itself has far reported no cases of the disease.

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Saudi Arabia has accelerated investment in glitzy sports and entertainment events in a bid to improve its reputation and boost jobs and investment in the sectors.

Prince Abdulaziz was put in charge of the new sports ministry as the kingdom hosts multi-billion dollar events 1 from major football leagues to women´s wrestling.

Saudi Arabia is to host the world´s richest horse race this week -- taking over the mantle from Dubai -- with $20 million in cash prizes on offer.

Earlier this week, Saudi sports authorities launched a women´s football league, in a new leap for women who were only allowed to enter football stadiums as spectators for the first time in January 2018.

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