Under the patronage of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the 18th edition of the Al Dhafra Festival will kick off on October 21 and will run until January 30, 2025.
The festival marks the beginning of the camel auction season in Abu Dhabi featuring four stages: the Sweihan Auction, Razeen Auction, Zayed City Auction, and the closing of the Al Dhafra Festival.
The first stop of the festival, the “Sweihan Beauty Contest,” will feature the organization of 76 rounds of local, purebred, and hybrid camels in a beauty contest, to be held at Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Heritage Square in Sweihan City.
Alongside the competition, a market will also showcase diverse shops offering products that promote the Emirati heritage.
The Al Dhafra Festival has become a key event for camel owners in the UAE and GCC, attracting international visitors who want to experience Emirati culture, said His Excellency Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority.
He also emphasized the festival’s role in preserving cultural heritage, a vision initiated by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The festival will feature a total of 361 rounds of camel beauty contests and milking competitions, offering 3,460 prizes. The categories include “Majahim,” “Mahaliyat,” “Muhajanat Asael,” and “Al Wadh.”
Following the Sweihan stage, the Razeen Auction will be held from November 14 to 21, 2024, while the Madinat Zayed Auction will be from December 12 to 19, 2024, culminating in the Al Dhafra Festival Auction from January 11 to 30, 2025.
The festival will also feature diverse heritage competitions, such as the “Falconry Competition,” and “Arabian Horse Races.”
