Sheikh Zayed Festival and Liwa Festival 2026-27: heritage season in Abu Dhabi

The Sheikh Zayed Festival is a long winter season at Al Wathba, on the Abu Dhabi to Al Ain road. It combines a heritage village, a funfair, concerts and national celebrations. The 2026-27 season opens on 30 October and runs 136 days to 14 March 2027, according to Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism.

The organisers say this edition adds new music and theatre performances, art and photography exhibitions and new aerial light choreography. Sub-festivals through the season are themed around plants, livestock, food, flowers and honey.

Last season ran from 4pm to midnight, and to 1am at weekends and public holidays, with fireworks every Saturday at 10pm. Treat that as last year's pattern: 2026-27 hours and prices had not been published when we checked.

The Liwa International Festival is listed from 11 December 2026 to 2 January 2027 around Tal Moreeb in the Al Dhafra Region. The full programme was not out when we checked. Last year's edition included Liwa Drift, Monster Jam and a running challenge on Tal Moreeb, with padel, cycling and sand-wrestling championships, plus dune projection and drone shows in the evenings.

Liwa is roughly three hours from Abu Dhabi city and further from Dubai, so most visitors stay a night or two. Hotels nearby fill early at festival weekends. Hot-air balloon flights run at weekends in good weather and can be cancelled at short notice.

At Al Wathba, arrive between 4pm and 6pm to see the heritage village in daylight and keep the best part of the evening for the dark. Weekday evenings are calmer than Fridays and Saturdays, and the Saturday fireworks make that the busiest night. National Day and New Year's Eve are events in themselves, and roads into Al Wathba back up well before the fireworks.

Desert evenings are colder than the city from December to February, so bring a layer. Our Abu Dhabi events calendar shows how both festivals fit with the rest of the season.