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Good practice Imported

Baseer and Sawaher: AI Crowd-Management Platforms for the Hajj

Saudi Arabia · Mecca · See the Saudi Arabia profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 83% 40/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Saudi Arabia's SDAIA runs Baseer and Sawaher, computer-vision platforms using 5,000+ cameras across 80 Hajj sites with 16 AI algorithms to predict crowd congestion and flag incidents, while independent monitors flag pilgrim-consent concerns and 2024 still saw 1,300+ heat deaths.

5,000+
Cameras deployed
80 locations
Monitored sites
16
AI algorithms
31
Monitoring dashboards
600+
Operators staffing dashboards
1.5 million+
Pilgrims monitored (2026 season) (2026)
1,300+
Heat-related deaths (2024 Hajj season)
Baseer and Sawaher: AI Crowd-Management Platforms for the Hajj

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Hajj and Umrah
Period
2019-2026 (progressive rollout, expanded for 2024-2026 Hajj seasons)
Keywords
public safety, crowd management, computer vision, facial recognition, mass-gathering operations

Context

Saudi Arabia's Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, operates Baseer and Sawaher — computer-vision platforms processing live camera feeds around Mecca's Grand Mosque precinct to manage Hajj crowds.

Objectives

Estimate real-time crowd density and flow, forecast dangerous congestion before it occurs, automatically flag incidents, and support facial-recognition identity checks against pilgrim visa records.

Activities

Sixteen AI algorithms feed 31 monitoring dashboards, staffed by more than 600 operators, drawing on live feeds from over 5,000 cameras across roughly 80 locations.

Results

The government reports the system monitored more than 1.5 million international pilgrims during the 2026 Hajj season, building on a rollout that began around 2019 and expanded significantly for the 2024-2026 seasons.

Conclusions

Digital-rights organisation SMEX has questioned how pilgrims can meaningfully consent to biometric surveillance in dense religious crowds and how their data is used and retained; investment in crowd-monitoring technology has not eliminated the underlying safety risk, since the 2024 Hajj season still recorded more than 1,300 heat-related deaths.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Very high (> €5M)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
600+ operators staffing 31 monitoring dashboards, SDAIA, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Hajj and Umrah coordination

Conditions for success

  • Integration of facial recognition with pilgrim visa records at checkpoints
  • Cross-agency coordination across SDAIA, Interior and Hajj ministries

Common failure modes

  • SMEX has raised unresolved pilgrim-consent and data-retention concerns
  • Heat-related deaths (1,300+ in 2024) persisted despite the monitoring system, showing it is one layer rather than a solved safety problem

Commonly funded by

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Data sources

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