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Doha, Qatar: The Camel Racing Organizing Committee has unveiled the details of the Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani Camel Festival, the first camel racing festival of the 2025-2026 season.
The 15-day event will kick off at Al Shahaniya and Lobsair Racetracks from December 13 to 27, 2025, featuring a record turnout from various GCC fields.
This year's festival showcases a bountiful program including 337 races distributed across the categories of royal camels for Their Highnesses and Sheikhs, and Tribal Camels, alongside 28 prestigious awards, the most notable being the Golden Sword, dedicated to tribal camel races.
Elite camels will compete in a version considered among the largest and strongest in terms of participation and prizes.
The festival's events will commence at dawn on December 13, with two heritage "Human Rider" camel races over four kilometers-the first race reserved for Qatari competitors, and the second open to GCC participants aged 18 to 35, the committee highlighted.
This traditional opening marks the official inauguration of a new kind of most prestigious annual festivals in the racing calendar, with evening sessions showcasing competitions for royal camels for Their Highnesses and Sheikhs, until December 17.
Subsequently, races for tribal camels will continue until the festival's closing day.
This flagship festival corrals camel owners across Qatar and GCC countries, reflecting its established status as one of the season's foremost and largest events in terms of participation and competitive level.
Interestingly, the organizing committee allocated valuable and diverse cash and in-kind prizes for all categories, including awards for the general races, in addition to major prizes for other competitions, underscoring the festival's prestige and encouraging participants to perform at the highest level.
On the final day, approximately QR 25 million will be allocated for the six concluding races, including QR 10.5 million for the Golden Sword race for Al Heil, open to Tribal Camels- QR 5 million for the winner, QR 2.5 million for second place, QR 1.5 million for third, QR 1 million for fourth, and QR 500,000 for fifth.
