Join us behind the scenes of Formula 1: our reporters were present at every Grand Prix in 2025, including in Saudi Arabia. We write about our experiences not only online, but also in our magazine. Part 5 of 24: André Venema on waste in Jeddah.
Few cities on the Formula 1 calendar are as filthy as Jeddah. The Saudi metropolis (5.7 million inhabitants) on the shores of the Red Sea is a public dump. The things you encounter most on the streets, in overflowing containers, and parking lots are food, cans, and plastic.
I don’t know if the average Saudi is raised with the idea of disposing of waste in a decent manner, but it seems that this is not ingrained in their system. The task does not seem to fall on the polluter, but on the millions of migrant workers from countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines. They keep the holy land running and (as far as possible) somewhat clean, against exorbitant wages and in grueling conditions.
Saudi Arabia
On a Friday just before midnight, after I had bought an ice cream and was walking back to the hotel, I saw a table in a fast-food restaurant where locals who had bought half the place left a mess, from a pile of waste to globs of ketchup and spilled cola, without any shame. Such behavior is fully accepted in a country where migrant workers are third-class citizens.
The fact that the streets are a sea of plastic and rats eat the leftovers from the takeaway shops doesn’t surprise (almost) anyone. Beauty, for the average local, lies in other things. Like a clean car. Every morning on my way to the shuttle, I saw ‘modern slaves’ futilely mopping concrete parking garage floors and washing residents’ cars from (luxury) apartments. Day in, day out.
Even at the circuit, toilets are cleaned after each visit, and the windows of the welcome center are cleaned three times a day. It’s all for show, or better said: seemingly clean.
