The current edition of the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival 2025, the largest event of its kind in the world, organized by the Saudi Falcons Club at its headquarters in Mulham (north of Riyadh), continued its activities. Wednesday evening witnessed fierce competition in the "Beauty Contest," considered the festival's icon due to its cultural and aesthetic heritage. A select group of winning falcons were crowned in two main rounds amidst a large audience and extensive media coverage.
Results of a free round from the local Qarnas competition
The opening round witnessed fierce competition in the first heat, dedicated to the "Free-flying" category for local falcons. The results saw falconer Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Buainain of the King Abdulaziz Cup after securing first place. The remaining positions were as follows:
- Second place: Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Buainain.
- Third place: Abdullah Rashid Al-Marri.
- Fourth place: Ghanem Madath Al-Dossari.
- Fifth place: Abdullah Ghanem Al-Dosari.
Results of a black/Adham free run
In the second round, dedicated to the "Black/Dark" category, falconer Ghanem Madath Al-Dossari won the King Abdulaziz Cup, securing first place and confirming the excellence of his falcons in this rare and beautiful category. The ranking of the remaining winners is as follows:
- Second place: Sultan Al-Duwaikh.
- Third place: Salem Madath Al-Dossari.
- Fourth place: Salman Al Abdulghani.
- Fifth place: Bader Hamad Al-Dosari.
The importance of the festival and its role in preserving heritage
The King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival holds immense strategic and cultural significance. It transcends its role as a mere sporting competition, serving as a global platform for preserving the falconry heritage, which the Kingdom has inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Through this event, the Saudi Falcons Club aims to strengthen national identity, pass on this time-honored tradition to future generations, support local falconers, and open up investment opportunities in this vital sector.
Huge cash prizes reflect the scale of the event
The festival organizers have allocated unprecedented cash prizes totaling over 38 million riyals , distributed between the "Al-Malwah" and "Al-Mazayin" competitions. Specifically regarding the Al-Mazayin competition, the winners will receive substantial prizes as follows:
- First place: 300,000 riyals.
- Second place: 175,000 riyals.
- Third place: 100,000 riyals.
- Fourth place: 30,000 riyals.
- Fifth place: 20,000 riyals.
The beauty contest is scheduled to conclude its activities for this stage today, Thursday, with two anticipated rounds for the "Pure Gyrfalcon Chick" and "Pure Gyrfalcon Adult" categories for locals, amid expectations of fierce competition to decide the remaining titles in this great heritage event.
