A Gyr Pure Ultra White falcon sold for Dh2.1 million at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) 2026, setting what organisers described as the highest price ever paid for a falcon at auction. The white falcon auction record was broken during the final sale session of this year’s programme, held at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi.
The bird, which originated from the United States, was sold on Sunday. It surpassed the previous global benchmark set in 2021, when a Gyr Qarmousha Falcon (Falco Rusticolus) Ultra White Farkh sold for 1,750,000 Saudi riyals (approximately $466,667) at the International Falcon Breeders Auction, organised by the Saudi Falcons Club at its grounds in Malham, north of Riyadh.
Three birds cross Dh1 million at ADIHEX 2026
The record sale was the third seven-figure transaction at this year’s ADIHEX auction programme. A Qarmousha Pure Ultra White sold for Dh1.5 million during the fifth auction on 29 August, setting the exhibition’s previous high, while a Gyr Pure Ultra White falcon chick fetched Dh1.1 million the following day.
Earlier in the programme, the opening auction on 15 August drew competitive bidding of its own: a Jeer Pure Super White sold for Dh250,000 after the winning bidder lifted the offer from Dh210,000 in a single move.
The 2026 programme comprised eight live auctions held before and during the exhibition, alongside an online auction open to international bidders. According to AFP, this year’s programme featured 55 leading local and international falcon breeding and care farms, up from 46 in the previous edition.
Exhibition format and organiser
ADIHEX 2026 ran from 28 August to 6 September at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, using Halls 1 to 11, the ICC Hall and Central Plaza, with daily hours of 10am to 10pm, according to the ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi event listing. The exhibition is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the Emirates Falconers’ Club.
Capital Events, the events management arm of ADNEC Group, organises ADIHEX in collaboration with the Emirates Falconers’ Club. ADNEC Group is a Modon Holding company.
Beyond the auctions, the exhibition hosts a ‘Most Beautiful Captive-Bred Falcons’ contest, in which birds are judged on weight and body measurements, feather symmetry and colour, head and leg detail, general appearance, and health condition. The Emirates News Agency (WAM) has reported on contest categories including Most Beautiful Pure Gyr and Most Beautiful Gyr Peregrine, among others.
At its 2025 edition, ADIHEX recorded a fourfold increase in participation from falcon farms worldwide compared to the prior year, according to an ADNEC press release on the 2025 exhibition. The 2026 edition’s final attendance and participation figures have not yet been published.
