Organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE), the event was the season-opening round of both the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup and the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship

Entry to the 2010 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge was open to cars and trucks complying with FIA T1, T2 and T4 technical regulations, as well as motorcyclists and quads running under FIM auspices.
This year, and to mark the 20th edition, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge saw record level of competitors this with 44 entrants in the car category and more than 100 competitors in total.

The sunset start in the ‘shadow’ of the Grand Mosque flagged off a non-competitive liaison section that guided the drivers and bikers to the first overnight halt at Moreeb Hill, near Liwa, where the rally would be based for the next four days at a specially-prepared desert bivouac. Moreeb is part of the Empty Quarter, the world's largest uninterrupted sand mass.
Legs two, three and four featured demanding loop stages around Moreeb Hill, across somewhat challenging gatch tracks, winding desert trails and the region’s notorious towering sand dunes, considered to be the highest dunes in the Empty Quarter.

The fifth and final leg took place on Thursday, April 1, with teams tackling a desert section between Liwa to the event's finish in Abu Dhabi city.