AlUla Camel Cup to celebrate animal intrinsic to cultural, sporting fabric of Arabia

ALULA: The AlUla Camel Cup will combine modern and ancient life while celebrating the incredible feats of an animal intrinsic to the cultural and sporting fabric of Arabia, organizers of the inaugural tournament said on Thursday.

Held under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the chairman of the Royal Commission for AlUla, the competition will take place from March 14-17, with a grand prize pool of SR80 million ($21 million).

A “Champion of Champions” will be crowned at the much-anticipated event marking the pinnacle of camel racing in Saudi Arabia this season.

The contest is organized by the RCU as part of the AlUla Moments calendar in collaboration with the Saudi Camel Racing Federation. More than 40 of the region’s finest racing camels have qualified for the AlUla Camel Cup.

With the highest prize pots in the world per round of camel racing, the tournament will feature a marathon of six rounds with a prize pool of SR960,000 per round, a series of “Heritage Races” made up of eight rounds with a total prize pool of SR51.2 million, and two rounds of “Elite Races” offering a prize pool of SR12 million each.

AlUla, a place of extraordinary human and natural heritage, was one of the main stops along the ancient Incense Road and pilgrimage routes. Be it rock art or figurines, depictions of camels dot the landscape of this stunningly beautiful part of Saudi Arabia, illustrating the unique human animal relationship that continues to be so important to the region’s people nowadays.

“To be in AlUla is to witness how special and everlasting the relationship between camel and the region is — indeed, the camel is so synonymous with Arabia as to act as a symbol of the land itself,” said chief tourism officer of the RCU, Phillip Jones.

He added: “The AlUla Camel Cup honors the long-revered sport of camel racing at the most apt of locations in the Kingdom and is a fitting tribute to the ‘ships of the desert’ and the incredible feats they can achieve.

“Hosting the inaugural event marks another milestone for AlUla as a destination and one we are immensely looking forward to fulfilling.”

Mahmoud Suleiman Albalawi, executive director of SCRF, said: “Since the seventh century, the sport of camel racing has enthralled people across Saudi Arabia, embedding itself as a national pastime in the rich history of the Kingdom.

“When the idea for this illustrious event was originally conceived, the fusion of ancient and modern in honoring the magnificent camel and our esteemed homegrown sport in the extraordinary setting of AlUla held great appeal,” he added. “As Saudi Arabia opens to the world, it is vital that traditions held so dear continue to be passed down from generation to generation as the country progresses. The AlUla Camel Cup certainly helps achieve that.”

The AlUla Camel Cup is about more than sport. The event will host an arts-filled evening featuring global and local stars performing across music, art, and more as well as a heritage village offering AlUla-inspired food and handicrafts.

Embracing AlUla’s distinctive desert-glam style, the AlUla Camel Cup will also be an opportunity for fashionistas to showcase their individual style befitting the warm days and cool evenings of winter in the region.

Single day tickets for AlUla Camel Cup, priced at SR50, are now available at https://tickets.experiencealula.com/en/experiences/alula-camel-cup-pass

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