Janadriyah festival starts with camel race

More than 900 contestants participated in the annual camel race at the start of the National Heritage and Culture Festival in Janadriyah near Riyadh yesterday. The festival’s official opening ceremony will take place today.
There will be six rounds of competition in the four-day camel race, one of the main attractions of the annual festival. Prizes worth more than SR 1 million will be distributed among the winners.
As many as 320 camels took part in yesterday’s first round of 19 km with a camel named Sarab winning first place, Markhan second, Tuwaik third, Ezz Al-Jaish fourth and Hamloul fifth, organizers said.
Abdul Mohsen Al-Tuwaijri, assistant deputy commander of the National Guard and deputy chairman of the higher organizing committee, distributed prizes among the winners.
The next rounds will take place on Friday, Sunday and Monday.
Al-Tuwaijri highlighted the progress achieved over the past few years. “The festival is getting better and better with each passing year. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, chairman of the Supreme Committee of the festival, have been watching the event closely,” he said.
The two-week event draws a large number of visitors including foreigners.
“This cultural fair is a realization of our nation’s identity and to feature our values and heritage with a mission to make it known to one and all,” said Al-Tuwaijri.
Events have been lined up for the nearly one million visitors expected to attend Janadriyah. This year’s event created a buzz after reports emerged that popular actor Jackie Chan would attend the festivities.