Inaugural AlUla Camel Cup brings to light Saudi Arabia’s desert heritage

As the sun rose above the desert dunes, the seventh century men, women, and children of the early Islamic period would come together on special occasions for social gatherings and festivals. Among the festivities in the land that would become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, camels competed against each other, thundering over the sand to the raucous cheers of their owners and supporters in the crowds.

And so the cherished homegrown sport of camel racing was born, a traditional pursuit from the most ancient of times that has been preserved and flourishes in modern Saudi Arabia.

The inaugural AlUla Camel Cup, organized by the Royal Commission for AlUla as part of the AlUla Moments calendar, in collaboration with the Saudi Camel Racing Federation, is the pinnacle of this year’s camel racing season. It is the next step in evolving a sport that has thrived from humble origins.

To be held from March 14-17, complete with a grand prize pool of $21 million — the highest prize pot in the world per round of camel racing — the AlUla Camel Cup honors the Kingdom’s revered sport in the most apt setting.

Against the stunning backdrop of AlUla, a place of extraordinary human and natural heritage, a “Champion of Champions” will be crowned on ground which was one of the main stops along the ancient Incense Road and pilgrimage routes. You only need a glimpse of AlUla to see the significance of the camel’s contribution and legacy. Be it rock art or figurines, depictions of camels dot the landscape of this breathtaking oasis, illustrating the unique human-animal relationship that continues to be so important to the region’s people nowadays.

AlUla, the living museum, holds some 200,000 years of largely unexplored human history. But AlUla as