The second annual camel festival in Ghayathi, a town south of Ruwais, is expected to attract tens of thousands of participants, organisers said yesterday.
Registration for the Ghayathi Muzayanat Al Majaheem Festival, which runs from November 15 to 20, will open five days before the event, and organisers are encouraging all nationalities to participate.
"The festival is not only a competition; it's about raising an awareness of our heritage and maintaining it, so that it can be transferred from generation to generation," said the head of the festival, Mubarak Musallam Al Mansoori.
"We hope that foreigners will come, so that they can learn about our culture. We want to gather people and keep our heritage alive. This is what we are trying to encourage," he said.
Winners of the competitions will have the opportunity to participate in the renowned Al Dhafra Camel Festival, which is held annually near Madinat Zayed.
The competitions include a camel beauty contest and poetry reading. Participants can win cars, among other prizes.
The organisers said they were inspired by the success of last year's festival, where the sales of camels reached Dh24 million.
"There was a lot of enthusiasm and support from the local community, which encouraged us to continue this year,"Mr Al Mansoori said.
