“Completely invented”
Fuss about the wrong World Cup stadium
October 31, 2025 – 8:38 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
An AI clip on social media shows a supposedly planned World Cup arena in Saudi Arabia atop a skyscraper. Looks spectacular, but it’s fictitious.
The video of an alleged stadium for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia on the top of a skyscraper has caused a stir around the world – but the design shown has nothing to do with reality. This was confirmed by a person from the application environment to the AFP news agency. “This design is completely fabricated and in no way resembles what Saudi Arabia is planning,” it said.
The shot shows a futuristic soccer stadium atop a skyscraper and was shared millions of times, including by media outlets that mistakenly presented it as an official project for the 2034 World Cup. In fact, the video comes from a private account and was created using artificial intelligence.
According to AFP, the Instagram account “hyporaultraworks” is behind the clip, which regularly publishes AI-generated stadium concepts. The creator explained on his Facebook page: “What started as a simple AI concept has taken on a life of its own: over 50 million views later, our ‘Sky Stadium’ has become known worldwide (and has gotten a bit out of hand).” He emphasized that he had no knowledge of Saudi Arabia’s plans – it was a purely fictitious idea.
Saudi Arabia is actually planning a high-altitude stadium – according to the application documents with a pitch over 350 meters high – above a real estate complex in the as yet non-existent desert city of “The Line”. The kingdom, which is repeatedly criticized for human rights violations, was awarded the tournament after a questionable award process by the world association Fifa in December last year.
