Marmi Festival ends with crowning ceremony for winners

The 12th International Hunting and Falcon (Marmi) Festival 2021 concluded with a crowning ceremony for the winners at Cultural Village Foundation – Katara on Saturday.
The closing ceremony, held with precautionary measures in place, was attended by a number of Their Excellencies Sheikhs and Ministers, World Ethnosport Confederation (WEC) President Bilal Erdogan, a number of heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Qatar, the board of directors of the Qatar Al Gannas Society, a number of falconers from Qatar and GCC countries, and festival guests.
The festival is held under the sponsorship of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani.
Ahead of the launch of Saturday’s event, HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani honoured the WEC President Erdogan. Sheikh Joaan also crowned the winners.
Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz al-Thani was awarded first place with a prize of QR700,000, Sheikh Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Thani won second and third places with prizes of QR500,000 and QR300,000 respectively.
In another category of the festival, Mubarak Abdulaziz al-Maadadi won first place with a prize of QR200,000, Nasser Ali Abdullah al-Misnad finished second with a prize of QR150,000, while Faleh Hassan al-Qahtani won third place and a prize of QR100,000.
Speaking on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of the 12th Marmi Festival, WEC President Erdogan praised the efforts of the Qatar Al Gannas Society in preserving the world heritage of falconry, noting that the festival and all the activities organised by the society seek to promote traditional sports, while hailing the festival and the diversity of the participating falcons.
For his part, Katara General Manager Prof Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti underlined the success of the 12th International Marmi Festival in cementing its presence locally, regionally and internationally as one of the most important activities that preserve the Qatari heritage in one of the most important events that are held in the country.
The festival, he said, is one of the most important held by Katara for lovers and breeders of the rarest types of falcons, adding that the day saw 15 rare falcons qualify for the finals. This shows Qatar’s interest in producing rare and important falcons, as the nation is considered a major centre for falconry in the region. It may be the first in the Middle East to pay attention to the world heritage of falconry, he said, while congratulating winners of the 12th Marmi International Festival.