Kuwait’s 33rd Annual Pearl Diving Festival is set for August 10-15

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 4: The Marine Heritage Revival Committee at the Kuwait Marine Sports Club is finalizing preparations for the 33rd Annual Pearl Diving Festival, a commemoration voyage, scheduled to take place from August 10 to 15 under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad.

Ali Al-Qabandi, head of the committee, announced that all participating youth have joined the camp at the club’s headquarters in Salmiya. There, they underwent both practical and theoretical training in traditional diving, enduring its historical hardships and hot weather. Training also included preparing diving ships and learning maritime arts, supervised by Captain Hamed Al-Sayyar, with contributions from committee members, captains, and veteran historian Thamer Al-Sayyar.

Al-Qabandi highlighted the strong participation of Kuwaiti youth, noting that the number of young mariners for each of the four participating ships, which were donated by the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, was adequate. The ships were launched into the sea on Saturday morning.

He detailed the trip’s schedule, stating that the training camp will conclude on Thursday, followed by the “Dasha” Day ceremony at 8:30 am on Saturday, when the young divers will depart from the club’s coast to the diving sites in Khiran. Media correspondents and photographers can visit the diving ships’ port in Khiran on the morning of Tuesday, August 13, to follow the trip closely.

The trip will conclude with the Closing Day ceremony on the club's coast at 5:30 pm on Thursday, August 15. The event will feature a large celebration with various marine arts, and families will welcome their children back, reminiscent of past traditions.

Al-Qabandi emphasized that the diving trip holds significant national importance, attracting great popular interest and international media coverage, particularly among heritage enthusiasts in the GCC countries and beyond.