– The premier desert polo tournament blends luxury, fashion, culture and heritage for a must-visit experience in the heart of AlUla
– Elite polo players set to participate showcasing AlUla’s global appeal to the world’s leading equestrian stars
– Tickets are on sale and available here
AlUla, Saudi Arabia, 11 January 2025:
The prestigious AlUla Desert Polo, organised by the Royal Commission for AlUla, returns for its 5th edition next week, transforming the historic landscape into a premier destination for world-class equestrian sport. Taking place from 16-17 January 2026, the event features a star-studded lineup of international professionals, royal players, and team patrons.
The three-day program blends high-stakes competition with premium hospitality and entertainment, starting with the team presentation on 15 January. Across two days of competition, 6 teams will contest a total of nine matches, showcasing high-level sport in the stunning setting of Mohammed Yousuf Naghi Equestrian Village.
On Day one six games set to take place followed by three matches on Day 2, culminating in the Grand Final and the awarding ceremony where the 2026 champions will be announced.
AlUla Desert Polo is a flagship event that highlights the region‘s deep-rooted equestrian heritage while delivering a globally appealing, sophisticated sporting experience.
A total of six teams and 18 players will compete in the event, including professionals David “Pelón” Stirling Jr., Pablo MacDonough, Ignacio Figueras, Lia Salvo, Catalina Maria Lavinia, Felix Alejo Ortiz de Taranco Stirling.
Joining the professionals on the pitch, royals, local players set to compete include HRH Prince Salman bin Sultan bin Salman Al Saud.
Lending their support and expertise to the event, team patrons for AlUla Desert Polo 2026 include Alejandro Antonio Poma Raskosky, Babar Naseem, Naveen Jindal, Venkatesh Jindal, Angus David St John Paradice, and Jennifer Rae Luttrell Benardoni.
Ziad AlSuhaibani, Chief Sports Officer at Royal Commission for AlUla, said: “AlUla Desert Polo has quickly become an iconic event that encapsulates elegance, elite sport, culture and fashion, to offer an experience unlike anything else. This event embodies AlUla’s incredible ability to offer visitors luxury, elegance, culture and heritage through immersive and unforgettable experiences, and has once again attracted some of the world’s best talent to compete in an iconic setting for three days of unforgettable sport.”
Tickets are now on sale, with single-day passes starting at SAR 380, while a two-day pass is available for SAR 570 when purchased through the app.
For those seeking an enhanced experience, the Polo Players Circle add-on offers all Premium Pass benefits along with guided access to the field before or after matches. Guests will have the opportunity to meet players, take photos, and receive exclusive event souvenirs.
Since debuting in 2020, AlUla Desert Polo has grown into an annual highlight of the AlUla Moments calendar – the year-round schedule of events and festivals celebrating sports, culture, arts, discovery, and heritage in AlUla. Other upcoming sports events on the calendar include the professional cycling AlUla Tour (27 Jan-31 Jan) , the AlUla Trail Race (22-23 Jan 2026), and AlFursan Endurance AlUla (7-8 Feb 2026) – one of the most prestigious events in endurance horse racing.
For more information, please visit experiencealula.com.
About AlUla Moments:
AlUla Moments calendar introduces a diverse lineup of festivals and events designed to unlock AlUla’s stories, reveal its hidden layers, and celebrate both local and global cultures. With over 7,000 years of continuous human presence and once home to some of the most sophisticated ancient civilisations, AlUla has always been a natural setting for cultural gatherings and shared experiences.
The calendar features five flagship festivals, each offering a rich mix of experiences across art, culture, music, nature, wellness and astronomy. These include the AlUla Wellness Festival, focused on modern practices that engage mind, body, and soul; Winter at Tantora, the original AlUla celebration of heritage, fashion, music, and culture; and the Ancient Kingdoms Festival, which honours the civilisations that once thrived in AlUla through immersive storytelling and experiences. The AlUla Skies Festival celebrates the wonders of the night sky with hot air balloons and stargazing, while the AlUla Arts Festival brings together contemporary and ancient expressions of creativity through exhibitions, installations, and cultural programming.
Alongside these festivals, the AlUla Moments calendar also includes standout marquee events such as AZIMUTH and AlUla Desert Polo, in addition to heritage sports events like the AlFursan Endurance AlUla. These are complemented by world-class experiences across fashion, adventure, and sport, further positioning AlUla as a leading destination for meaningful and memorable experiences.
For more information, please visit experiencealula.com
About AlUla:
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 52-hectare ancient city, Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and comprises of over 140 well-preserved tombs, many with elaborate facades cut out of the sandstone outcrops surrounding the walled urban settlement.
Current research also suggests Hegra was the most southern outpost of the Roman Empire after the Romans conquered the Nabataeans in 106 CE.
In addition to Hegra, AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open-air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages, which has been recently listed on the UNESCO’s memory of the World Register. Also, AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes developed from at least the 12th century, has been selected as one of the World’s Best Tourism Villages in 2022 by the UNWTO.
For more information, please visit: experiencealula.com
