Thousands visit video game and comic art event in Muscat

Over 12,000 people attended a video game, comics, and pop-culture event called 968 Gamez, held at Al Araimi Boulevard from March 21-23.
The event had many stalls for SMEs and Omani creators, and also a stage for dancing and music events, including a video-game driven guitar performance by Qais Al Lawati. The event saw such a turnout that at some counters people were asked to form a queue in order to avoid blocking the mall’s entrance.
Haitham Al Zadjali, who was one of the organisers and sponsors of the event, told Times of Oman, “The first day saw thousands of visitors, and it went beyond our expectations at over 2,500. We have an emcee who is experienced and he is working to estimate the audience as accurately as possible. Since entry is free, it becomes difficult to count exactly how many visitors came.”
Another organiser said, “By the end of the event, we exceeded our expected turnout and saw more than 12,000 visitors in three days. We had e-sports events for Rocket League and Fifa, as well as League of Legends. There was also a cosplay competition with multiple categories, such as best design, cosplay, and acting.”
Al Lawati told Times of Oman, “The event was smooth and had a good amount of cosplayers and the artists were amazing as usual.”
One of the stalls belonged to Al Anqaa (phoenix), which creates gifts with Arabic calligraphy.
The owner of the store said, “We were happy with the number of visitors to our stall during this event, even though the culture present here is different from what we are used to. People are interested in providing custom gifts to their loved ones.”
The event also included workshops on Photoshop, a comic art and creative storytelling workshop by Bob Hoffman, and a photography workshop.