Government of Dubai Media Office - 15 February 2026: The third day of Dubai Games 2026, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, concluded today with two Heats of the Battle of the Cities, featuring teams representing 56 global cities.

The 2026 edition of the tournament is held in official partnership with DP World; Diamond Partnership with DAMAC, Beyond Developments and Emirates Petroleum Company (Emarat), and a Strategic Partnership with the Dubai Sports Council. Participating city teams saw intense competition to secure the highest score, awarded based on quality of performance as well as the speed of completing the challenges.

Four cities to the finals

The four teams with the highest point scores qualified for the finals to compete for the tournament title. The qualifiers were Kutna Hora from Czech Republic with 156.76 points, Moscow from Russia with 156.75 points, Montreal from Canada with 154.03 points, and, and Czarny Dunajec from Poland with 152.95 points.

The bonus points that the teams earned in the Burj Challenge played a critical role in securing their tickets to the Battle of the Cities grand finale on Sunday, 15 February.

Expanding the scale of the challenge

Reflecting the tournament’s growing global position as one of the leading city team challenges, and in response to increasing international participation, the Organising Committee has expanded the Battle of the Cities recognition to include the top ten finalists. This aims to further incentivise international participation by recognising the efforts of global teams and their ability to think strategically and perform as one team to overcome challenges.