Saudi Arabia’s new city of the future, Neom, isn’t looking too good just yet.
A wave of vloggers and micro-influencers have been posting on social media about their lives in the developing desert city – and their posts are almost falling flat.
$500 billion Neom project – sponsored by Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the centerpiece of his Vision 2030 plan to diversify the country’s economy – credits itself as “the country of the future where the greatest minds and the best talents are empowered to incorporate pioneering ideas and beyond the boundaries of the imagination-driven world.”
A rendering of what Neom’s infinity pool would look like. Neom
The government hopes that Neom’s megacity “The Line” – which will be a long thin city between tall skyscrapers shown when completed – will attract 1.5 million residents by 2030, but the target the maximum is reduced to 300,000.
This publicity photo shows the design of “The Line,” part of Saudi Arabia’s vast desert city of Neom. Neom
And there is the reality of what living in Neom currently looks like.
One Noem resident and vlogger with 17,000 TikTok followers, Jessica Herman, has been posting about her life in the developing world. In one TikTok video, Herman happily films what an evening in “Neom Community 1” looks like: preparing his children in his beautiful industrial apartment, walking through what looks like it’s like empty streets and cookie-cutter houses, and headed for mod “dining.” hall” for dinner with his family.
Herman isn’t the only one who’s been upping his ante in town lately.
Other mommy vloggers have been sharing similar experiences living on Neom in recent months, such as Sara Sarasid, who has more than 24,000 TikTok followers, and Aida McPherson, who has a TikTok following of more than 28,000.
The environment of their videos looks so horrible, even the vloggers show a smile.
This week, X users caught on to Herman’s video and criticized the way the environment appeared and became desolate, especially compared to the futuristic interpretations of what the city plans to become.
Another user, Joshua Hind, wrote on X in response to Herman’s video, “After all the comments and explanations, Neom is nothing more than a foreign computer built for Westerners to work in KSA.”
ABC News reporter Matt Bevan also wrote on X’s post that has been viewed more than 770,000 times, “Oh wow this looks great I’ve always dreamed of living in an industrial area on a day.”
Others on the forum described the sights on Neom as “unhappy and bleak,” looking like a “Mars colony,” and having a “low-security prison.”
It is not clear whether Herman or her husband are government employees or Herman is being paid to film her life in town. It is also unclear whether Community 1, where he lives, or Neom’s other “Community 2” are temporary developments made while the city is being built.
The city of Neom did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, nor did Herman.
Herman’s account was later closed.
Neom’s development has attracted a lot of hype – and it’s share of controversy.
Back in May, the BBC reported that Saudi authorities had been given permission to kill any villagers who stood in the way of deportation to clear the area for development. And, according to the agency, one villager was shot and killed after protesting.
Recently, Neom executives have been accused of racism, misogyny and corruption, according to The Wall Street Journal last week. In one incident, a manager mocked the deaths of three construction workers, complaining over the phone, “A bunch of people are dying so we have to hold a meeting on Sunday night,” the WSJ reported.
Neom announced Wednesday in a statement shared with Variety that the director has been replaced. There have also been reports of riots and conflicts, and even physical altercations between managers working on the project.
Neom’s costs are constantly rising, which has led the Saudi authorities to consider “reviving” the project and has become a cause of concern within the Saudi government, according to reports.