VISITORS THRONG

As weather turns milder

The last weekend of Muscat Festival is expected to bring a large number of visitors to both venues with weather conditions also stabilised compared to the previous week. The final round of T3 Round 2 challenge will be also held on Saturday at Oman Automobile Association, starting at 2 pm. At the same venue, the Super Car Show will be held on Friday starting 4 pm.

From next week, the focus will shift to the annual Tour of Oman which will be held between February 14 and 19. The tournament, to be organised in six stages, will travel through the length and breadth of various wilayats across Oman. The first race will begin from Al Sawadi Park in Barka and concluded at Naseem Park.

Special exhibitions and educational programmes have been lined up for children by various associations and cultural groups at both venues over the weekend.

“Hopefully, economic conditions will improve next year and we will be able to find more artists performing here,” said Abdullah Kindi, a visitor who was at the Naseem Park.

Businesses have been steady and less competitive this year as overall the number of commercial stalls were less. “The chilly conditions this weekend saw a drop in the number of visitors, but hope it will pick up,” said Ali who has two stalls selling snacks at Naseem Park.

Despite pressure to have more variety of international programmes, the focus will continue to be on Omani culture and heritage next year. “We will certainly look into the feedback from people through the social media and during personal interactions. We will discuss with all stakeholders and hopefully there will be something totally different next year,” said a member of the organising committee.

He said there will be a post-festival conference, where all queries about this year and the future plans will be answered.