Liwa International Festival has become a winter motorsport fixture in Tal Moreeb, Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra desert. It combines competitive dune and drag events with traditional sports and a growing family oriented village area. The high energy event that runs steadily for the full 23 days from 12 December 2025 to 3 January 2026. 

It used to be a hardcore dune meet dominated by hill climbs and drag racing, with cultural elements and family activities seen as secondary. Recent editions are more balanced: drift shows, burnout contests, monster truck events, camel and horse racing, falconry and stage performances. The visitor profile has also expanded from mainly off road enthusiasts and campers to families numbering more than 300,000 in recent years.

Tal Moreeb dune and hill climb events were the highlights fostering winners: Hamad Mousa Al Bloushi in a 6 cylinder class and Ahmed bin Ali Al Hamad in a Hilux category, reflecting strong participation from UAE and wider GCC drivers. An important 2026 marker was the electric and hybrid presence: Majed Salem Mubarak Salem Al Mansouri won an EV class on Tal Moreeb with a 7.343 second run. Social coverage highlighted a Jetour G700 taking a plug in hybrid title, signifying that manufacturers are now using Liwa as a live test and showcase for alternative powertrains in deep sand.

Cool season desert weather with warm days, colder nights and soft sand that changes as it is repeatedly cut by climbs and drag runs. That combination stresses engines, cooling systems, brakes and tires, especially on the long Tal Moreeb climb and repeated straight line runs which explains why outright performance and durability both matter so much here.

Liwa is effectively an outdoor stress rig for paint and plastics, it is interesting to see the impact from thrown grit and how bodywork, lights and films hold up over time from my PPF and engineering perspective.

Liwa 2026 ultimately delivered a fun-filled 23 day program confirmed the festival’s role as both a serious motorsport benchmark and a major winter anchor event for Abu Dhabi.

Liwa International Festival has become a winter motorsport fixture in Tal Moreeb, Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra desert. It combines competitive dune and drag events with traditional sports and a growing family oriented village area. The high energy event runs from 12 December 2025 to 3 January 2026.

It used to be a hardcore dune meet dominated by hill climbs and drag racing, with cultural elements and family activities secondary. Recent editions are more balanced with drift shows, burnout contests, monster truck events, camel and horse racing, falconry and stage performances. The visitor profile has also expanded from mainly off road enthusiasts and campers to families numbering more than 300,000 in recent years.

Tal Moreeb dune and hill climb events were the highlights fostering winners: Hamad Mousa Al Bloushi in a 6 cylinder class and Ahmed bin Ali Al Hamad in a Hilux category, reflecting strong participation from UAE and wider GCC drivers. An important 2026 marker was the electric and hybrid presence: Majed Salem Mubarak Salem Al Mansouri won an EV class on Tal Moreeb with a 7.343 second run. Social coverage highlighted a Jetour G700 taking a plug in hybrid title, signifying that manufacturers are now using Liwa as a live test and showcase for alternative powertrains in deep sand.

Cool season desert weather with warm days, colder nights and soft sand changes as it is repeatedly cut by climbs and drag runs. That combination stresses engines, cooling systems, brakes and tires, especially on the long Tal Moreeb climb and repeated straight line runs which explains why outright performance and durability both matter so much here.

Liwa is effectively an outdoor stress rig for paint and plastics. It is interesting to see the impact from thrown grit and how bodywork and films hold up over time from my PPF and engineering perspective.

This year's event delivered a fun-filled 23 day program and confirmed the festival's role as a serious motorsport benchmark and a major winter anchor event for Abu Dhabi.

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Wessen Char is UPPF’s petrolhead who still mourns the loss of Saab (and drove her 9-5 NG till 2025). She travels between US and Europe to cover auto events. She acknowledges the chic tech of EVs but wonders if the inexorable move to everything digital is ultimately all-better. Analogue had more soul somehow :)

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