Liwa International Festival welcomed the arrival of 2026 with one expansive New Year’s Eve celebrations, as Al Dhafra Region hosted a multi-location programme of live music and countdown moments across the desert.
At the heart of the celebrations, the Grand Arena hosted a live concert featuring four leading Arab artists: Hamad Al Ameri, Khalid Abdulrahman, Aseel Hameem and Fouad Abdulwahed. Meanwhile, fireworks lit up the night sky simultaneously across Tal Moreeb, Liwa Village and the iconic LIWA sign, creating a panoramic display visible throughout the festival grounds and beyond.
Across Liwa Walk, music filled the public spaces throughout the evening, building towards a coordinated midnight countdown. From 11:00pm, the soundtrack to the celebrations was also broadcast live on 87.7 FM, allowing visitors across the festival to tune in as music, visuals and fireworks came together in a fully synchronised New Year moment.
Large-scale projections across the surrounding dunes added to the immersive and vibrant experience, reinforcing the scale and ambition of Liwa International Festival’s New Year’s Eve celebrations as thousands welcomed 2026 together across the desert.
