AI image of skyscraper football venue dupes globally
- Published on November 4, 2025 at 10:10
- Updated on November 4, 2025 at 14:09
- 4 min read
- By Déborah CLAUDE, AFP France
- Translation and adaptation Dene-Hern CHEN
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Saudi Arabia, the host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, has unveiled plans to build a football arena on top of a real estate complex in a futuristic new megacity project, but an image purported to depict the Gulf nation's plan to construct the world's first "sky stadium" was made with AI. The creator of the visual -- which went massively viral in late October and even duped media outlets -- told AFP it is AI-generated, while a source told AFP the "sky stadium" design is "completely fabricated".
"Saudi Arabia is set to construct the world's first 'sky stadium'," announces an Australia-based Facebook page on October 28, 2025, captioning an image of a slender structure with its top levels featuring an open-air football stadium overlooking a glittering city.
"The new stadium will be suspended 1,150 feet (350 metres) above the ground, the venue is expected to open around 2032 and will host matches for the 2034 FIFA World Cup."
Several sports-focused Australian Facebook groups -- as well as a mainstream news outlet -- shared the false claim, while others published a video circling the tower, whose shape resembles a World Cup trophy.
The false claim has spread widely around the world in different languages and across various platforms, including a post from an X user based in Rwanda that got more than 3.4 million views by October 29 before it was deleted.
Plans for an elevated stadium in Saudi Arabia do exist -- called NEOM stadium, it will be located on the roof of the planned futuristic new city of the same name that is the brainchild of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (archived link).
The US$500 billion Red Sea megacity, which features mirror-encased skyscrapers spanning 170 kilometres (over 100 miles) across the desert, is the lynchpin of Saudi Arabia's ambition to remake itself into a major cultural and sporting destination (archived link).
The kingdom -- the sole bidder for the 2034 World Cup -- now has less than a decade to complete major infrastructure projects, including more than a dozen football stadiums capable of accommodating the 48 football teams as well as the hundreds of thousands of fans who will flock to the wealthy Gulf state for the matches.
'Completely fabricated'
But the image circulating widely of a football stadium atop a soaring skyscraper is not a design concept of the new stadium, according to a person close to the issue.
"This design is completely fabricated and bears no resemblance whatsoever to what Saudi Arabia is planning," the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the project, told AFP on October 29.
"It does not appear in any official source."
Additionally, AFP has found no trace of such a design from the official X page for Neom, as well as on Saudi Arabia's bid for the 2034 World Cup (archived here and here).
'AI concept'
A keyword search on TikTok revealed a video showing the same visuals in the false post shared by an account called @hyporaultraworks (archived here and here).
It has released AI-generated visuals of futuristic-looking cities, buildings and bridges. Its bio reads: "The future, imagined and brought to life".
The creator also uploaded the same clip on his Facebook and Instagram accounts. The Instagram post has received more than 1.1 million likes (archived here and here).
The video's captions on both platforms read, "An aerial flyby of a skyscraper stadium design", while TikTok said its creator had the clip "labelled as AI-generated".
"What started as a simple AI concept has taken on a life of its own -- over 50 million views later, our 'Sky Stadium' design has gone global (and slightly off the rails)," he wrote on his Facebook account, explaining that he had no knowledge of any project in Saudi Arabia when he made this.
"It was purely an imaginative AI concept, exploring what a vertical, skyscraper-style football stadium could look like," the post goes on to read, calling his video a "100% AI concept".
A Daily Mail article identified the creator of the video as 34-year-old Liam Hawes living in Britain (archived link).
Contacted by AFP on October 31, Hawes confirmed he was the creator of the video and added that he had done an interview with the Daily Mail.
AFP has previously fact-checked several claims stemming from AI-generated content.
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