On the 7th of January 2026, during the closing days of the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, falconry revealed itself not as a memory of the past, but as a living practice. Falconers from across the Kingdom and the GCC stood side by side, united by a shared heritage passed down through generations.
The Saudi Times was invited to the festival to better understand how the Saudi Falcons Club is ensuring this ancestral pursuit endures – by preserving its roots while guiding its future.
The Saudi Falcons Club (SFC), is a non‑profit organisation established in 2017 by Royal Decree of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Although falconry competitions in Saudi Arabia began earlier, in 2016, the founding of the Club marked a turning point: a formal structure dedicated to supporting falconers, preserving ancestral heritage and elevating Saudi falconry onto an international stage.
Speaking to The Saudi Times, SFC CEO Talal AlShammisi confirmed the club’s role goes beyond competition; “Falconry has always been a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s cultural identity and a powerful symbol of courage, leadership, and resilience, embodied by the legacy of the Kingdom’s brave kings. Within the framework of Vision 2030, falconry is reaffirmed as a living heritage that strengthens national pride while contributing to cultural sustainability.”
He continues, “By preserving and promoting falconry, Saudi Arabia honors its deep-rooted traditions, reinforces its authentic identity, and presents its heritage to the world in a modern and responsible way. This balance between preservation and progress reflects Vision 2030’s commitment to celebrating national culture while building a confident future.”
The Saudi Times also spoke with Walid AlTaweel, the official spokesperson for the Saudi Falcon Club and a falconer himself. His dual role reflects the Club’s ethos – shaped not only by administration, but by lived experience. “For some people,” he explained, “falconry is a hobby. For others, it’s a full‑time profession.” The festival is designed to serve both.
Two competitions, one heritage
The King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival centres on two main competitions: The Milwah, the high‑speed falcon race, and The Mazayen Beauty contest. Each celebrates a different aspect of falconry skill – performance and form – and together they highlight the depth of expertise within the community.
Racing takes place in the morning, while beauty competitions are held at night. Speed by day, elegance by night.
The prize pool for the festival exceeds 38 million Saudi riyals, one of the largest ever offered in falconry worldwide, a figure that has earned the festival multiple Guinness World Records, including for the largest prize pool and participation. More than 2,000 participants took part this year, a number that continues to grow annually, with competitors arriving from nine different countries, making the festival the most diverse falconry gathering in the Gulf region.
Racing by milliseconds
Falcon racing at the festival is as much about precision as it is tradition. The Milwah race covers a 400‑metre course, equipped with advanced sensors, lasers and cameras at both ends of the course. These sensors capture a photo finish capable of taking 20,000 images within 2 milliseconds, technology similar to that used in Formula 1 racing.
Falcons race individually rather than together – a necessity, AlTaweel explained, because falcons would attack one another if released simultaneously. The margins between winners are often measured in milliseconds, testimony to how breeding, training and care can make the difference between victory and defeat.
All first‑place winners from each final race ultimately compete against one another for the festival’s most prestigious honour: the King Abdulaziz Sword, awarded with a prize of 500,000 SAR. The first six days of the festival are dedicated to semi‑finals, building toward a finale that carries enormous symbolic weight within the falconry world.
Special races are also held for women and children, reinforcing the Club’s commitment to inclusivity and to nurturing future generations of falconers.
Beyond competition
While the races draw headlines, the festival is only one part of the Saudi Falcon Club’s year‑round programme. Alongside the flagship King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, the Club curates a full calendar of major events that run throughout the year, reinforcing falconry as a living, continually practised heritage rather than a seasonal spectacle.
These include the International Auction of Falcon Farms, the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition, the Saudi Falcons Club Auctions, and the Saudi Falcons Club Cup.
Since 2018, the Club has expanded its calendar to include major international auctions and exhibitions that attract breeders, falconers and enthusiasts from across the world, many of which are held between October and November. These auctions attract breeders and buyers from around the world, offering rare bloodlines and carefully bred falcons. Booths are hosted by international participants, turning the auctions into global meeting points for the falconry community.
Bloodlines, rarity and breeding quality are closely scrutinised, reflecting how falconry today blends tradition with modern science.
Another important event is the Falcon and Hunting Exhibition, a massive showcase covering everything related to falcons and hunting culture. Spanning approximately 190,000 square kilometres of exhibition space, it includes tracking devices for falcons and vehicles, veterinary products, equipment and educational displays.
The exhibition attracts up to 70,000 visitors daily, with races taking place concurrently on a 200‑metre warm‑up track. This shorter race prepares falcons for the two major annual competitions: the Saudi Falcon Cup in November and the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, which together account for prize pools exceeding 38-40 million SAR.
Conservation at the core
Central to the Saudi Falcon Club’s mission is environmental responsibility. Falconry, AlTaweel stressed, cannot exist without conservation. Through programmes such as Hadad, the SFC works to protect endangered and declining falcon species by rescuing them from illegal hunting and trafficking.
One key focus is the mountain shaheen falcon, a species facing increasing pressure. The SFC tracks and rehabilitates these birds, reintroducing them into suitable environments within Saudi Arabia and abroad, including in collaboration with partners in Kyrgyzstan and under the guidance of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Another initiative focuses on the waqri falcon, a species nearing endangerment. Through partnerships with specialised breeding farms, the Saudi Falcon Club has established strict protocols to breed, monitor and eventually release these falcons back into the wild.
Heritage, identity and global outreach
The Saudi Falcons Club also plays a visible role in cultural life beyond competitions. Community engagement remains a priority, with children placed at the heart of the Club’s long-term vision.
The Saudi Falcon Club invests heavily in educating young people about falconry through dedicated programmes, school-focused activities and youth races designed to introduce children to the values, skills and responsibilities associated with the tradition. By supporting and mentoring young falconers from an early age, SFC aims to cultivate the next generation of practitioners who will carry this heritage forward.
This approach aligns closely with Saudi Vision 2030’s focus on human capital development, where investing in youth education, skills and cultural awareness is seen as essential to building a confident, capable and culturally grounded future generation.
According to Talal, this focus on youth is fundamental to falconry’s future. “In line with Vision 2030’s emphasis on youth empowerment and character development, falconry provides young Saudis with meaningful opportunities to acquire essential life skills. It teaches responsibility, patience, discipline, and ethical conduct, while fostering respect for nature and environmental sustainability. Through hands-on engagement, young falconers develop confidence, leadership, and a strong sense of national identity, ensuring that Saudi cultural heritage continues to thrive through capable and committed future generations.”
Educational races are organised for schoolchildren, alongside dedicated competitions for women and special races featuring Mongolian falcons, which differ in size and flight characteristics from Arabian species.
The Future is Falcon
Looking ahead, the Saudi Falcons Club year-round calendar reinforces falconry as a living, evolving heritage. The next major event is the International Falcons Breeders Auction, scheduled to take place from 5th to 25th August 2026, bringing together elite breeders and rare bloodlines from around the world.
This will be followed by the Saudi International Falcons and Hunting Exhibition, running from 1st to 10th October 2026, a large-scale showcase dedicated to falconry, hunting culture and related technologies.
The calendar culminates with the return of the Kingdom’s flagship event, the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, which will run from 25th December 2026 to 10th January 2027, once again uniting competition, conservation and cultural celebration on a global stage.
Published by: Boudou Gueffai | Editor-in-Chief | The Saudi Times
