S’hail 2021 concludes, sees 'great success and large turnout'

* Auctions see exciting action* Winners of Most Beautiful Pavilion and Most Beautiful Falcon Hood competitions honouredThe fifth edition of S’hail - Katara International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition - came to an end at Katara - the Cultural Village Saturday after hosting several attractions and activities and drawing many visitors, who caught up on the culturally vibrant and rich heritage event.The five-day exhibition made another huge impression as the largest of its kind in the region and one of the finest in the world, Katara said in an official Katara press statement yesterday.Visitors expressed admiration for the exhibition, which had additional space, offered more variety and gave them lots to explore in terms of hunting weaponry, falconry and equipment for safaris, camping and fishing trips.They also acknowledged the health precautionary measures that were put in place and followed by the exhibition's management in line with the Ministry of Public Health's directives based on the highest safety standards, which ensured a safe shopping experience.The highlight of the final day was the announcement of the results of the daily and reserved auctions for the Mongolian species of falcons.Twenty-two falcons were selected as part of the Mongolian breed for the second auction, which was held throughout the duration of the exhibition. There were bids on each day and eventually the following were declared as the highest: bird No. 1 - Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari, QR155,000; bird No. 2 - Abdullah Mohamed Rashid Abdullah al-Khater, QR75,000; bird No. 3 - Shaheen Salem Shaheen al-Ateeq al-Dosari, QR54,000; bird No. 4 - Abdul Aziz Saleh al-Sulaiti, QR39,500; and bird No. 5: Shaheen Salem Shaheen al-Ateeq al-Dosari - QR48,000.In the daily auction, the highest bid on the fourth day was of Jassim Abdul Latif al-Misnad and the value of the falcon reached QR622,000, the statement noted.Prof Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, chairman of the Organising Committee of S’hail and general manager of Katara, honoured the winners of the Most Beautiful Pavilion and Most Beautiful Falcon Hood competitions in order to encourage the participants to be creative and innovative in the design of their pavilions and in support of skills, crafts and traditional industries.The Most Beautiful Falconhood competition was won by ABF (by Sheikh Abdullah bin Fahd al-Thani), bagging a prize of $3,000, while Oro Falconry was in the second place and received a prize of $2,000. Falcona Leith was third and got a prize of $1,000.The pavilion of Desert Motors and Kinder Shows was declared the Most Beautiful Pavilion and won a prize of $20,000.The concluding day also witnessed visits of a number of ambassadors, including Hafeez Mohamed al-Ajmi of Kuwait, Najib bin Yahya al-Balushi of Oman, Dr Mustafa Boutoura of Algeria, Syed Ahsan Raza Shah of Pakistan, Dr Deepak Mittal of India, William Asselborn of Belgium and Jean-Baptiste Faivre of France.Also, the exhibition saw the presence of dozens of journalists and media representatives.Salem bin Mabkhout al-Marri, director of Public Relations and Communications at Katara and a member of the executive committee of S’hail, expressed happiness at the success of the fifth edition of the exhibition.He stressed that the exhibition has become an important global event and reflects the prestigious position that Katara occupies in hosting heritage exhibitions and international cultural festivals, and has reached the "highest levels of readiness and efficiency, reinforcing its pioneering role as the crossroads of cultures and in preserving heritage", according to the statement.He praised the important role of the local, Arab and international media in the success of the exhibition, and the distinguished media coverage of the exhibition’s activities.Al-Marri pointed out that the administration of S’hail 2021 established an advanced global media centre with all the equipment and technology needed to follow up on the event and its activities, especially the auction for falcons. All necessary facilities and assistance were provided for media professionals to deliver their work fast and efficiently, he added.S’hail 2021 brought along 160 companies specialised in the field of hunting and falconry, representing Qatar and 17 other countries, which displayed their offerings and services in 152 pavilions at the venue.