The emirate will play host to the second Festival of Cultures and Civilisations of World Deserts next month.
Hamad Abdul Rahman Al Midfa, UAE Minister of Health, said scientific programmes, conferences, workshops and demonstrations would be scheduled.
"This will enable people to learn more about desert life, which represents a blend of simplicity and nature and purity of spirit," he said.
Events will include desert athletic events, such as camel and horse races, a desert rally and marathon as well as a desert carnival with folklore dances. There will be shows at the desert village and in the city.
Competitions will include sand drawing between Navarro Indians and Australian Aborigines, and singing between Mongolians and North American Inuits.
The festival will also display, for the first time, photographs of extraterrestrial deserts from Mars and the Moon.
The President of Unesco and French astronaut Patrick Baudry are scheduled to participate in the event.
Abdulaziz Bouteflika, Algerian President and Patron of the World Deserts Foundation, is also scheduled to attend.
Khalid Bin Sulayem, director-general of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said sustainable development of desert regions would be on the agenda.
The DTCM announced the event and Princess Camilla from Mongolia, a descendant of Genghis Khan, wore traditional Mongolian dress to demonstrate some of the artefacts that would be on offer.
The festival, at the Endurance Village near the Bab Al Shams Hotel, will take place from April 16 to 22.
It is being hosted by the Zayed International Prize for the Environment, the World Deserts Foundation and the DTCM.
Gulf News
