Sunday 06 / September / 2026
Wilayat of Bidiyah in North Al Sharqiyah Governorate is preparing to host the Bidiyah Sands Carnival, taking place from 19 November to 19 December 2026. The carnival will be a comprehensive national event bringing together motorsport, sports, entertainment and cultural activities, while making use of the unique desert landscape for which the wilayat is renowned. The event aims to further strengthen Bidiyah’s position as one of the Sultanate of Oman’s leading destinations for desert tourism and adventure experiences.
The carnival is being organised as part of a broader vision to establish it as an annual event on Bidiyah’s calendar, contributing to sustainable tourism, stimulating economic activity, and supporting small and medium enterprises as well as sectors related to tourism, hospitality and services. It also aims to attract visitors from across the Sultanate of Oman and abroad, while showcasing the wilayat’s natural and tourism assets at both regional and international levels.
Leading the carnival’s programme is the Oman International Baja, the first championship of its kind to be held in the Sultanate of Oman. The event will be organised under the umbrella of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), ensuring the implementation of internationally recognised organisational, technical and safety standards. The championship represents a strategic step towards strengthening Oman’s presence on the global motorsport map and paving the way for the future hosting of a round of the FIA Baja World Cup.
Baja rallying is one of the most prominent forms of cross-country desert rallying, with competitors taking on a variety of terrain including sand dunes, open desert tracks, wadis and natural routes. The event will feature several categories of vehicles, including four-wheel-drive cars, motorcycles, quad bikes and SSVs.
The Bidiyah Sands Carnival will extend well beyond the rally itself, offering a diverse programme of sporting, entertainment and cultural activities, as well as desert-based experiences designed for different segments of the community. The programme will also feature the Bidiyah Sands Challenge, an obstacle race that makes use of the area’s natural terrain and sand dunes. The challenge will include a 5-kilometre adult course with categories for professional athletes, amateurs and corporate teams, in addition to a 500-metre children’s race.
The carnival will also feature a fully integrated Event Village, including spectator areas, sponsor activation zones, live broadcast screens, a dedicated area for small and medium enterprises, as well as interactive zones and desert experiences. This will provide visitors with a complete experience extending beyond sporting competition to entertainment, shopping and community engagement.
The carnival is also expected to provide a significant boost to the tourism sector and the local economy by increasing occupancy levels at hotels, desert camps and other accommodation facilities, while generating additional activity for restaurants, cafés, retail outlets and transport services. It is also expected to create direct and indirect opportunities for businesses and individuals working across sectors associated with the event.
Based on estimated participation figures, the carnival is expected to attract more than 150 participants representing over 20 countries, in addition to more than 150 media representatives, over 200 volunteers, and more than 300 organisers and operational staff. These figures reflect the expected scale of the event and the strong sporting, media and organisational presence it is set to generate.
The Bidiyah Sands Carnival and Oman International Baja represent a strategic step towards positioning Bidiyah as a regional and international destination specialising in desert tourism and adventure sports. The event also supports efforts to diversify Oman’s tourism offering, enhance the economic returns generated through sports tourism, and establish the carnival as a sustainable annual event on the region’s major events calendar.
