Crown Prince Camel Festival draws participants from as far as Europe, North America

This year’s event features 589 races and a total prize pool of $14.9 million (56.25 million riyals). (@scrfSA)

• The 38-day event aims to showcase Saudi Arabia’s camel racing culture

RIYADH: Participants from as far as Europe and North America have brought their dromedaries to this year’s Crown Prince Camel Festival which opened at the historic Taif Camel Field earlier this week.
The 38-day event aims to showcase Saudi Arabia’s camel racing culture, as well as the broader Arab heritage of which the sport enjoys popular support in the region and beyond.
This year’s event features 589 races and a total prize pool of $14.9 million for the various race categories.
Now in its fifth year, the festival features more than 60,000 camels from Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait; Sudan and Egypt from the African continent; France and Switzerland from Europe and the US from North America.