The chief judge of the show, Fawzan al-Madi, said in a statement, “The camel is a symbol of Saudi Arabia. We used to preserve [the show] out of necessity, now we preserve it as a pastime”.
The possible reason for the performance-enhancing move? The prize-winning camel reputedly receives a reward totalling around $57 million.
The annual show occurs on the outskirts of Riyadh, and tens of thousands of camels are judged on their appearance.
