Teknofest Istanbul draws more than 1.7M visitors

By Hanife Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - Istanbul’s massive Teknofest broke records by drawing more than 1.7 million visitors in its second year, according to a statement from event organizers.

Some 1.72 million visitors last week attended Teknofest, a six-day technology and aerospace fair in Turkey’s commercial capital, to see technological advances from both Turkey and worldwide.

This year, the festival featured 17,373 teams competing in 19 different areas such as flying car design, robotics, and model satellites.

During the competitions, teams were provided with financial support of approximately 4 million Turkish liras ($697,000), and top award-winners received more than 3 million Turkish liras ($522,445).

The festival also featured numerous activities such as aviation shows, seminars, workshops, a drone championship, contests, and concerts.

Istanbul Ataturk Airport hosted the festival, co-organized by the Turkish Technology Team Foundation and the Industry and Technology Ministry.

Anadolu Agency was the festival’s global communications partner.

On Saturday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also attended the high-tech festival.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz