Abu Dhabi: Celebrating the traditions and culture of the UAE, the 11th annual edition of Al Dhafra Festival got under way on Thursday in Madinat Zayed, with the event set to run until December 28.
Organised by the Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals Committee, this year’s festival will be holding several traditional competitions with a total of Dh38 million in prize money to be awarded to 1,400 lucky winners.
The festival’s main competition — totalling over Dh30 million in prize money — will be the camel beauty competitions, with organisers expecting more than 20,000 camels to feature at the festival. The camels — along with their 1,500 owners — all hail from several nearby Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait, highlighting the festival’s growing reach and popularity in the region.
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