Saudi ambassador confirms that 2034 will be a dry World Cup, saying that football fans can still have fun without alcohol.
Saudi ambassador says “plenty of fun can be had without alcohol” as he warned them not to expect to drink.
When asked about the safety of LGBTQ+ individuals at the contentious tournament, Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud added, “We will welcome everyone.”
In an interview with LBC, Prince Khalid said: “At the moment, we don’t allow alcohol, but you know, plenty of fun can be had without alcohol. It’s not 100% necessary. And you know if, if you want to drink when you leave, after you leave, you’re welcome to. But at the moment, we don’t have alcohol.”
In light of the humiliating reversal that occurred in 2022 when Qatari officials resisted alcohol sales at games, FIFA has chosen not to enforce local organisers to sell beer inside stadiums during the World Cup.
However, there has been a lot of conjecture that the Saudi government will try to relax its even more stringent alcohol regulations by allowing visitors to consume alcohol in foreign hotels, much like they can in most of the Gulf. However, Prince Khalid used the present tense to seem to rule out that option throughout the interview.
“There’s no alcohol at all,” he said when asked about hotel bars. “Rather like our weather, it’s a dry country. Everyone has their own culture, and we’re happy to accommodate people within the boundaries of our culture, but we don’t want to change our culture for someone else, OK? And I mean, really, you can’t live without a drink?”
In Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is prohibited, and anyone who “promote the vice and practice of homosexuality” risk imprisonment. In response to enquiries regarding potential prejudice prior to the Qatar World Cup, the event’s organisers stated that “everyone is welcome.” Prince Khalid repeated this statement when questioned about the topic in connection with 2034.
“We will welcome everyone,” he said. “You saw that recently this was an issue in the World Cup in Qatar. There were no issues there. You know, this is a special event. It is not a Saudi event. It is a world event. And to a large extent, we will welcome to everyone who wants to come.”