Page 10 - IAV Digital Magazine #444

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Twelve Camels Are Disqualified From Saudi Arabian Beauty Contest For Using Botox
Twelve camels have been dis- qualified from an
annual Saudi be auty contest after their own- ers were found to have used Botox.
The animals were ejected from the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, taking place near Riyadh, for violating strict beauty contest rules.
Cash prizes for camel competi- tions at the 28- day festival total $57million, so pressure to cheat can be intense.
A new hand- book was issued to beauty contest entrants last
year, Newshub r eports.
'Camels that are found with drugs in the lips, shaved, dyed in any parts of the body, or with
changes from natural form are not allowed,' the handbook says.
Aside from the beauty contest there are awards for camel racing, obedience train- ing, camel hair art and the best photographs of camels.
Chief judge of the show, Fawzan al-Madi, told Reuters: 'The camel is a symbol of Saudi Arabia.
'
We used to pre- serve it out of necessity, now we preserve it as a pastime.'
In recent years the Saudi royal family have boosted the pro- file of the camel festival as they emphasise aspects of tradi- tional culture, while at the same time pushing for soci- etal reform.
Last year the event was
moved from a remote desert to the outskirts of the capital.
On a rocky desert plateau, the government has erected a permanent venue to host the headline events such as races and a show competi- tion.
The pavilion features an auc- tion where top camels can fetch millions of riyals.
There are food stalls and sou- venir shops, a petting zoo fea- turing the world's tallest and shortest camels and a museum with life-size sand sculptures of camels.
There are also tents for tasting camel's milk and viewing camel-hair tex- tiles, and a planetarium showing how Arabs rode
camels through the desert guid- ed by the stars.
Organizers say this 'heritage vil- lage' will expand in coming years as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman takes the reins through a newly-created official Camel Club estab- lished by royal decree last year.
Halfway through this year's festi- val, attendance is up about a third from last year, with about 300,000 people making the one and a half hour trip from Riyadh so far, said Fahd al- Semmari, a Camel Club board member.
'The vision is for the (festival) to become a glob- al, pioneering forum for all classes of peo- ple to come for entertainment, knowledge and competition.'
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine