More than 700,000 visitors flocked to the Liwa International Festival 2026 in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region between Dec. 12, 2025, and Jan. 3, 2026, according to the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. The 23-day event around the UAE’s tallest dune featured motorsports, cultural activities and family entertainment, contributing to the emirate’s record 26.6 million visitors in 2025.
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi organised the festival in partnership with the Liwa Sports Club, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Abu Dhabi Media Office, Al Dhafra Municipality, Abu Dhabi Police, Abu Dhabi Media Network and Miral. Heritage activities including traditional competitions and cultural showcases took place around Tal Moreeb and nearby historic locations, which reinforced the living desert traditions of the Al Dhafra region. Motorsports participation increased by 47 percent compared with the prior year while the dedicated Liwa Village zone welcomed 274,440 people, a 26 percent rise that festival data indicated.
A Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi assessment found that the emirate attracted a record 26.6 million visitors throughout 2025. Hotel revenues climbed 19.5 percent to AED 9.1 billion that year with occupancy reaching 81 percent, the assessment showed. International arrivals from markets including India, Russia and the United Kingdom rose 10 percent, supporting the festival’s role in extending tourism into desert areas.
Festival records from previous editions placed attendance at 640,222 visitors in 2024. This year’s higher turnout highlights the event’s expanding popularity since its inception in 2004, when it began primarily as a motorsports gathering before evolving to encompass broader cultural and entertainment programming. Organisers incorporated sustainable measures such as solar power for significant portions of the site to support the increased scale of operations.
The motorsports lineup encompassed the Tal Moreeb Car Championship along with freestyle and drift contests, drag racing, off-road events, UTV racing, Monster Jam and Extreme MudFest. These competitions took place on and around the famous dune, attracting enthusiasts from multiple countries. Family zones offered dining, retail and themed activities across five dedicated areas that saw expanded seating and new experiences this season.
The next iteration of the Liwa International Festival is set to run from Dec. 11, 2026, to Jan. 2, 2027, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi announced. Planning for the forthcoming edition will build on this year’s infrastructure improvements to accommodate continued growth. The event series has generated substantial digital engagement in past years, with hundreds of millions of social media views that promoted UAE desert tourism.
