Commencement of the Second Edition of the Sohar Festival

Muscat, The Gulf Observer: The activities of the Sohar Festival in its second edition, which highlights the cultural and historical heritage of the states of the North Al Batinah Governorate, kicked off yesterday at the Sohar Entertainment Center in the Wilayat of Sohar in the North Al Batinah Governorate.

The opening was sponsored by His Excellency Salem bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism, in the presence of His Excellency Mohammed bin Sulaiman Al Kindi, Governor of North Al Batinah, and a number of Their Excellencies governors, members of the State and Shura Councils, and directors of government and private institutions.

His Excellency the Governor of North Al Batinah explained that the festival this year comes to achieve economic goals that are consistent with the economic status and commercial activity witnessed by the governorate.

His Excellency said: The festival aims to enhance movement and activate the relative advantages of the North Al Batinah Governorate as it is one of the economic destinations of the Sultanate of Oman, so that the Sohar Festival will be launched in its second edition. Through an effective partnership between various sectors of society and the private sector, in order to create spaces of entertainment and cultural, heritage and sporting events that attract visitors from different groups and interests.

This year, the festival provides an opportunity for job seekers from the governorate through their participation in fields of work that are compatible with the festival’s activities, in addition to the participation of more than 160 productive families and 24 craftsmen from various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, which confirms the added value of the festival, as In its second edition, the festival is expected to attract more visitors than the first edition, which amounted to more than 928 thousand visitors.

The festival witnesses new activities in the fields of culture, heritage, and sports, in addition to entertainment and achieving its commercial goals. In its second edition, the festival works to hold purposeful events and activities to showcase the cultural elements enjoyed by the North Al Batinah Governorate in particular and the Sultanate of Oman in general.

A number of events will be held within the festival’s agenda. Seminars, lectures, training and education seminars, book and collectibles exhibitions, as well as poetry meetings.

The heritage field will also have a number of activities, such as introducing traditional crafts, heritage environments, customs and traditions, as well as the traditional market, in addition to allocating a number of platforms dedicated to selling the products of productive families, rural women, and small and medium enterprises.

Those interested in the sports sector will also have their own space, by following the Asian Cup matches at the festival stage screen, in addition to a number of sports tournaments that will be organized in conjunction with the festival activities.