An 80 Million Liter Wavepool in the Arabian Gulf?! Surf Abu Dhabi

Like many of us, Taj Burrow had little experience with the Middle East before its waves became a talking point. “I’d only ever passed through Dubai airport,” TB told Stab. “So arriving and seeing these man-made cities, islands, and landscapes was surreal. It felt like stepping into the future, but on another planet.”

In recent years, the Middle East has been unapologetically ambitious in its quest to attract global visitors. Central to this effort is the Tourism Strategy 2030, unveiled by the Department of Culture and Tourism in April 2024. With a $10 billion investment plan, the region is reshaping its tourism infrastructure, focusing heavily on world-class sports facilities and hosting high-profile events.

For surfers, one of the most exciting elements of this futuristic Pinterest board was the KSWC wave pool on Al Hudayriat Island—the largest, longest, and saltiest man-made wave pool on the planet, now complete and set to host its first-ever Championship Tour (CT) event in February 2025.

[ianm]

Locals only… rich celebs and spoiled pro surfers

[coryzimmerman]

Cool another pool just for pros and the rich.

[joaofofes]

Most of these infrastructures are made by people from Índia and Bangladesh and they are treated like garbage and earn misery salarys.

[matthewbranson]

Would love to see an carbon footprint analysis of the facility next

[genripper-bq]

kinder economies in the world to drop your hard-earned travel bank

[dantheredman]

"Am I allowed to wear a bikini surfing?"

[TaylorGraeme]

Woke up, shit, they wiped my butt with gold leaf, surfed a few hours on my silver spoon then went yachting to pay for it all.

[melissaparkerrobinson]

Amazing wave pool - well done to all the people that trained and worked hard to make this an amazing experience for all!

[lachlanstorie]

These wavepools seem like sick fun to be at, but they are pretty dull to watch on a screen. Maybe if they could crank the waves up to 8ft for the WSL comp it'd be more entertaining. If anywhere could afford to make a wave of consequence in a pool it's Dubai.

[eamonbarron]

Puff piece - how much did they pay you?

[guyshahar]

950 dollars for 5 waves in 90 minutes. What’s the point ?

[johnbrion]

How much does it cost to rent the pool out?

[alexerioeduardo]

If this is where surfing is going they can have it!

[jakejohnowen]

Anyone know what that first track is called?

[Keith-rijg]

Its crazy the amount of money you would spend to get there, surf, stay, and survive you could literally go on a surf trip anywhere in the world lmao

[twiginindo]

I'd like to know the cost of a visit / stay there, are us plebs never gonna surf it ?

[steveskrobot]

Thats cool how he was sitting stationary for a short period inside the barrel

[jefferytott]

Why not a bigger foil for taller waves? I really wish someone with money used it as a testing facility trying different bottoms and foil types. Like Kelly has said in the past. Front foil small, large second foil to make it way more hollow.

[Chelsee_Red]

Coco ripping the hardest out of all of them!

[jeffmcdavitt]

They love the Flintstones, best joke ever. 😂😂😂😂