Drone Shows and Motorsports Launch Liwa International Festival at 300-Metre at Tal Moreeb
Liwa Festival 2025: A spectacular blend of desert camping, motorsports, fireworks, and cultural festivities.
The UAE’s winter desert season officially began with the opening of the Liwa International Festival in Al Dhafra, as drone shows, projection mapping, desert camping and motorsports transformed the towering Tal Moreeb dune into a large-scale open-air spectacle.
Liwa, home to the 300-metre-high Tal Moreeb — one of the tallest sand dunes in the UAE — came alive as visitors gathered for the festival’s opening night. The nearly three-hour journey from Al Ain gradually gives way to the vast Al Dhafra desert, setting the stage for an experience rooted in scale, remoteness and natural beauty.
Ahead of nightfall, military aircraft performed aerial displays over the festival grounds, carrying out precision manoeuvres that drew crowds’ attention skyward and built anticipation around Tal Moreeb. As darkness fell, projection mapping illuminated the dune itself, turning its sweeping slopes into a dynamic canvas that followed the natural contours of the sand.
The opening show traced Liwa’s transformation from a region shaped by traditional desert life into one of the UAE’s key winter destinations. Through coordinated visuals and sound, the performance highlighted the deep connection between people and place, and Liwa’s evolution into an annual gathering point for families, campers, adventure seekers and heritage enthusiasts during the cooler months.
The highlight of the evening came as hundreds of drones took to the sky, forming intricate light patterns and symbols in a display lasting around 16 minutes. Fireworks followed, lighting up the desert night and drawing applause from spectators seated across the sand, many of whom had already set up camps around Tal Moreeb for the season.
Beyond the main show, festival activity extended into Liwa Village, where families explored entertainment zones, creative workshops and live performances. Visitors also toured a classic car museum and sampled food from a wide range of dining outlets offering Emirati and international cuisine, adding to the festival’s lively atmosphere.
Motorsports concluded the night at a dedicated drifting arena, where engines roared late into the evening. The scene underscored Liwa’s long-standing connection to car culture and adventure, bringing the opening night of the Liwa International Festival to a close against the dramatic backdrop of the desert dunes.