Sheikh Zayed Festival 2023 | When, Where, Tickets, Activities & More

The Sheikh Zayed Festival is one of the largest heritage events in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The event sheds light on multiple bright aspects of the heritage and culture of the UAE.

The Sheikh Zayed Festival is also considered a global platform that provides social, cultural, and humanitarian exchange between civilizations.

The festival will be held under the patronage of the President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the guidance of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court.

When and where will the Sheikh Zayed Festival take place?

The Sheikh Zayed festival will run from Friday, November 17th, 2023 until March 9th, 2024. The festival welcomes its visitors on a daily basis from 4:00pm to 12:00 pm to give them an opportunity to interact with a range of activities that suit all family members.

It will take place in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi. 

The Sheikh Zayed Festival 2023 tickets

Entry price is AED 5, and a free entry for people of determination, children under the age of 3 and elders above the age of 65.

Why is it called Sheikh Zayed Festival?

The Sheikh Zayed Festival bears the name of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in recognition of his pioneering role in preserving authentic Emirati heritage.

The late Sheikh Zayed, the founding President of the UAE and the father of the nation, was pursuiting applying true and noble Emirati cultural values, and bestowing them on future generations.

What does the Sheikh Zayed Festival feature?

The Sheikh Zayed Festival features a number of family-friendly cultural and sporting events and popular performances suitable for all ages, as well as live entertainment, including some of the most magnificent fireworks displays in the UAE.

The festival also offers numerous exhibitions, global civilizations pavilions and opportunities for cultural exchanges in a family-friendly, entertaining, and educational environment. 

Global pavilions that are expected to be on-site are China, Egypt, India, Iran, Kuwait, Levant, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, and Turkey.

Visitors will get the chance to experience art and culture of different countries at the various pavilions through cultural dances and live music presentations on the pavilion stages around the grounds.

The Sheikh Zayed Festival attracts broad international participation that braces efforts to spread the UAE's message of humanity to the whole world.

There is currently no additional information available about the specific shows and events, but keep an eye on this feature because we will be updating it as soon as we get official information about the events and activities taking place at the Sheikh Zayed Festival this year.

During the last Sheikh Zayed Festival, visitors were able to watch motocross and automobile drifting, and a drone show, as well as explore Fun Fair City, the Dessert Museum, and Selfie Street, and even experience go-karting.

The Sheikh Zayed Festival welcomed the New Year of 2023 with the largest fireworks display and drone show that broke four Guinness World Records. The drone and fireworks shows lasted for more than 60 minutes combined for the first time in the region and were documented by the Guinness World Records.

The largest fireworks display lasted for more than 40 minutes, providing the crowd with an exceptional experience and a welcome message at the end of the exhilarating show that successfully broke three Guinness World Records, while the fourth record was set by the drone show as more than 3,000 drones flew up the sky of Al Wathba in different colours of light and formation.