The AlUla Falcons Cup 2023 began on Thursday with a prize pool of SR60 million ($16 million) up for grabs, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The event is a collaboration between the Saudi Falcons Club and the Royal Commission for AlUla and will last until Jan. 5.
Held at Mughira Heritage Sports Village in AlUla, the cup is set to grant the largest awards in the history of international falconry competitions.
Walid Al-Taweel, the official spokesperson of the Saudi Falcons Club, praised the partnership between the club and the Royal Commission for AlUla.
The partnership aims to promote legacy of the Kingdom’s falconers, celebrate the authentic culture of falconry internationally, raise environmental awareness and support local falconers, he added.
Al-Taweel said: “The awards amount to SR60 million and the competition is the largest considering the value of its awards internationally.
“The competition includes four tracks: Three of them are designated for falcon racing (Al-Milwah) while the fourth is a beauty competition (Al-Mazayen),” he added.
“The first track is for local owners and professionals who will compete in 24 rounds for prizes worth SR10.4 million. The second track includes local and international finalists from the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival. They will compete in 48 rounds for prizes worth SR28.6 million.
“The cup’s third track is divided into six rounds for local and international elite falcons. Prizes for this track amount to SR10.5 million. The fourth track is designated for the Al-Mazayen (beauty) competition, and consists of six rounds for locals with prizes amounting to SR10.2 million,” he said.
Al-Taweel listed the types of falcons that will take part in the event: Lanner, peregrine (Shaheen), gyr pure and gerr shaheen, among others.
The event is an extension of the success of the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, which recently finished, he added.
The festival entered the Guinness World Records for the third time in its history as the largest falconry competition in the world. A total of 2,654 falcons from eight countries took part in the event.
The Al-Milwah competition in AlUla begins daily at 9 a.m., while the Al-Mazayen competitions will be held from Jan. 2-4 at 8 p.m. daily.