The third edition of S'hail — the Katara International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition — opened on Tuesday at the Cultural Village Foundation.
The exhibition, considered the largest of its kind and class in Middle East and the world, has attracted more than 140 exhibitors of specialized international companies and manufacturers in the field of hunting and falcon accessories from more than 20 countries around the world.
Hunting enthusiasts and heritage lovers went around the vast expanse of varied exhibition and sales began immediately at various sections displaying different hunting tools and guns, in addition to handicrafts and falcon accessories.
Katara general manager and S’hail organizing committee chairman Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti expressed satisfaction on the progress of the exhibition on its first day, saying that S'hail has emerged as an international hub for hunting and falcon enthusiasts over the years since its opening in 2017.
"The international participants reflect the success of the previous editions of the exhibition which attracted more and more of hunting-specialised companies and manufacturers, including falcon breeders from 20 different countries," Dr al-Sulaiti said.
He thanked the sponsors, and in particular the Sports and Social Activities Support Fund, Ooredoo, QIC and Qatar Airways, for their support to S'hail.
He also welcomed visitors to a great opportunity to see the cultural interest in falcon and the hunting wares and guns that are on display at S'hail.
The falcon auctions, which is one of the unique features of S'hail, this time has a distinct addition by way of digitized auctioning.
The five-day event is expected to receive several thousands of visitors over the next four days.
This year, the exhibition also has a specialized restaurant catering to the visitors inside the grand pavilion premises, offering fresh hunt food and barbecue.
The first of its kind in terms of size, exclusivity and diverse range of products from falcons to hunting tools to guns to customized vehicles to various hunting and camping accessories is a delight for both the connoisseur and commoner alike.
The exhibition runs from 9am to 10pm daily and will be open on Friday from 3pm till 11pm. It concludes on Saturday.
Various ministries, institutions and governmental and official bodies such as the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, represented by the Department of Environmental Protection, Natural Reserves, and Wildlife, the General Authority of Customs, the Qatari Society of al-Gannas (Sniper Association) and the Al-Galayel Championship, in addition to the participation of the Qatar Shooting Federation and Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital are taking part in the exhibition this year.
The exhibition features local, regional and international participation of companies from Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, Kenya, Italy, Russia, Britain, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Lebanon, the United States, Sweden, the Netherlands, Turkey, Iran and Portugal.
Qatar, Kuwait, Britain and Spain lead the participating countries with a large number of pavilions, providing options and exhibitions that contribute significantly to meet the aspirations and needs of visitors and enable them to discover the latest equipment, weapons, products and services offered in fishing.