"We race as one" – Sportswashing in Saudi Arabia by Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Over the last years, more and more contracts have been made to host a number of sporting events in Saudi Arabia, e.g. the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah or the Spanish Soccer Supercopa.

What human rights organizations often criticize as "sports washing" is the idea of hosting prestigious events in order to attract tourists, while the very own population is suffering under immense restrictions. For example, any kind of LGBTQIA+ is strictly forbidden by law. People not obeying those rules can get sentenced to many years in prison, if not execution.

And still, a lot of these events still advertise themselves with rainbow colors and inclusive slogans like "We race as one."