If You're Listening with Matt Bevan

The sci-fi Saudi city that might be a scam (9x31)

: 12, 2024

The massive infrastructure project NEOM sits in the Saudi Arabian desert, and the jewel in its crown is The Line, a futuristic city which looks insane. It's the brainchild of the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The AI-generated ads depict a car-free city, for 9 million people, housed between two mirrors. Despite promises of millions of residents by 2030, the project has been scaled back by 98 per cent. The Line will be more like a dot. So what the hell happened? And was it all just a scam?