Cairo: The annual King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, considered the world's largest gathering of falconers, has opened near Riyadh with a record pool of prizes worth SR36 million.
The festival runs until December 19 with the participation of Saudi and international falconers.
The festival has allocated prizes worth more than SR36 million, the biggest in its history, to the winners of its qualifying and final rounds.
It features two major competitions for the titles of the King Abdulaziz Cup and the King’s Sword.
Its contests include one for female falconers, and 73 rounds in vying for the King Abdulaziz Cup awards in different categories, and for qualifying for the two rounds of the King Abdulaziz Sword. It also features a falcon beauty pageant.
Other events include the Future Falconer Pavilion, which displays falconry tools, ways of raising, caring for, and feeding falcons, their history, and their link to ancestors' heritage through interactive activities that utilise modern technology.
Ten other pavilions display falconry, hunting supplies and camping tools.
Organised by the Saudi Falcons Club, the festival aims to enhance the role of falcons in national identity, preserve the traditions of breeding and training them, showcase cultural heritage, and attract visitors to discover Saudi culture.
Held at the club’s headquarters in Malham, north of Riyadh, the event usually draws the participation of elite local and international falcon owners. The festival is also a magnet for falconry fans in the kingdom and other Gulf countries.
Falconry is a popular hobby and an essential part of cultural heritage in the Arabian Peninsula.
Making its debut as the world's biggest of its kind in 2019, this year's edition is taking place a few weeks after a major Saudi falcon auction ended in Malham with total sales of nearly SR6 million.
