Saudi Arabia’s AlUla Gears Up for 1st World Championship for Int’l Camel Endurance in May

The competition features a 16-kilometer race, divided into two stages
The competition features a 16-kilometer race, divided into two stages
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Saudi Arabia’s AlUla Gears Up for 1st World Championship for Int’l Camel Endurance in May

The competition features a 16-kilometer race, divided into two stages
The competition features a 16-kilometer race, divided into two stages

AlUla is gearing up to host the First World Championship for International Camel Endurance on May 4, offering an impressive prize pool exceeding SAR2 million.

The competition features a 16-kilometer race, divided into two stages, each covering 8 kilometers, with a 30-minute rest period separating these stages.

To reach the ultimate stage, the top 20 male participants and 15 female participants from the initial stage will qualify. The final results will be determined by considering the combined best timings from both stages.

The championship will announce the results separately for each gender. The winners in the men's and women's categories will be awarded a prestigious prize of SAR500,000 each.

Furthermore, the remaining prize money will be distributed among the top 10 winners in each category.

The event was officially launched during the third General Assembly of the International Camel Racing Federation (ICRF), chaired by Prince Fahad bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, on September 5 in Taif. The General Assembly expressed its gratitude to Saudi Arabia for hosting the inaugural edition of this championship.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.