DOHA: The 16th edition of the Qatar International Falcons and Hunting Festival (Marmi 2025) will kick off on Wednesday, under the patronage of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani at Sabkhat Marmi in Sealine.
It will continue until February 1, with the support of the Social and Sports Activities Fund 'Daam' and organized by the Qatari Hunting Association.
The festival aims to document and promote the falconry heritage registered on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity according to UNESCO. It is one of the largest festivals specialized in the field of falcons and hunting in the region and the world.
Chairman of the Marmi Festival Mutab Mubarak Al Qahtani said that the festival will kick off this year with the 'Hadad Al-Tahadi' Championship, noting that the championship is dedicated to falcon chicks, which involves releasing a carrier pigeon and launching a falcon towards it. If the falcon is able to catch it or trap it in a certain location (decorating it according to the traditional expression for hunting), then he is considered a winner and deserves a prize worth QR100,000 in addition to qualifying for the final and competing for a Lexus car.
Some 23 groups are participating in the Hadad Al-Tahadi Championship in this year’s edition of the festival.
Al Qahtani stressed that the festival is an integral part of the heritage and works to document the falconry heritage, as most of the competitions are a revival of real hunting with falcons, and the Tal’a Championship is considered the most documenting of this heritage, because it is a practical practice of real hunting.
For his part, Chairman of the Preparations and Events CommitteeSaeed Rashid Al Nuaimi stressed the importance of preparing the site for the festival’s championships and renewing its design every year to reflect the general taste of Qataris by presenting what is beautiful, taking into account the fine details related to our heritage and receiving visitors and tourists to enjoy this unique heritage festival on a global level.
He pointed out that the festival site and the tournament fields are now fully ready, as during the past period, the festival was prepared in a manner that is consistent with its local and international reputation, taking into account a set of standards and conditions that must be met, starting with the road leading to the festival site, which was paved and flags indicating the festival site were placed for a distance of more than 10 kilometers, where small cars (saloons) can reach the site.
This is in addition to preparing a tent for VIP visitors and guests, hair houses, and installing giant screens to follow the races from the main platform that was completely covered for the comfort of guests and followers, and shops that provide a number of services for falconry enthusiasts and the public in general, such as falconry equipment, travel equipment, car equipment, ghutras, shawls, and restaurants to provide snacks and hot and cold drinks, in addition to providing hospitality on site.
He pointed out that each championship has its own field, such as the “Al-Tala’a” field, which was changed in the sixteenth edition, the “Hadad Al-Tahadi” field opposite the main platform of the festival, the “Al-Da’w” field, the “Saluki Race” field, and then the “Promising Falconer” field, which is the same as the “Al-Da’w” field.
On the other hand, Al Nuaimi explained that the festival includes a number of accompanying events such as “shooting” and “falconry workshop.”
Mutab Al Qahtani, Director of Marmi Festival, praised the efforts of the supporting institutions and contributors to the festival, including the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the Ministry of Municipality, the Internal Security Force Lekhwiya, the Public Works Authority “Ashghal”, the Social and Sports Activities Support Fund “Daam”, Al Kass Channel and all contributors to the success of the festival.
It is worth noting that the Hadad Al-Tahadi Championship for groups 1 to 3 will continue for three consecutive days until next Friday, January 3, with one group per day, to make way on the evening of Saturday, January 4, for the Saluki Racing Championship qualifiers, while the Al-Tala’ Championship qualifiers will start on Sunday, January 5, with 30 groups participating in Al-Tala’ this year.
