TAIF – Under the patronage of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, the Saudi Camel Race Federation has announced that the Second Crown Prince Camels Festival will run from Thursday Aug. 1 at King Faisal Park in Taif, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. Camel races will be held from on Thursday, Aug. 15, at the Taif Camel Race Course. The camel festival will be a key fixture of this year's inaugural tourist festival in Taif — Taif Season. Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi General Sports Authority and president of the International Camel Racing Federation, expressed his thanks and gratitude on behalf of GSA staff to the Crown Prince for his patronage, which is evidence of the leadership's support of various diverse sectors in the country, toward enabling success of sporting and other local and international events. This year's camel festival will offer financial prizes totaling SR52 million, which will be hotly contested by a large number of local and international camel owners. There will be over 439 rounds of competitions during the festival. In a press statement, Prince Fahd Bin Jalawi Bin Abdul Aziz Bin Musa'id, president of the Saudi Camel Racing Federation and vice president of the International Camel Racing Federation, said that the festival in its second edition aims to highlight the camel racing tradition of Saudi, Arab, and Islamic culture, to support KSA's tourism and economy sectors, and to enhance social engagement, thus promoting heritage, patriotism, and showcase KSA's cultural depth. He also stated that all preparations are underway for the festival, with a focus on quality commensurate with an event that enjoys the patronage of the Crown Prince, and the federation aims to meet the aspirations of camel owners and fans worldwide. The Saudi Camel Racing Federation has announced the launch of a warm-up round of the Crown Prince festival for all ages, comprising 218 rounds. This will be followed by 48 production, marathon, Haraer, international, and Sudanese rounds. The closing rounds themselves will number 173. The Saudi Camel Racing Federation has confirmed that the full festival agenda as well as accompanying events and programs will be announced in full next week. In its first year, the festival has seen remarkable turnout of more than 11,000 camels competing in the Festival, earning it a Guinness World Record.
