Success of Jeddah Season was diversity and inclusivity

Manager of Jeddah Season, Nawaf Qomosani. (Supplied)
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  • Jeddah Season had events tailored to almost everyone, including Anime Village for fans of the art and Japanese culture, Jeddah Waves for water sports enthusiasts and cultural shows for art, music and theater lovers

JEDDAH: With its wide variety of daily shows, experiences, games, exhibitions and concerts, Jeddah Season was a resounding success, receiving over 5 million visitors from around 68 countries. 

More than 36 performances and events were held in the Kingdom for the first time. 

Jeddah Season had events tailored to almost everyone, including Anime Village for fans of the art and Japanese culture, Jeddah Waves for water sports enthusiasts and cultural shows for art, music and theater lovers. 

Inclusivity was a priority for Jeddah Season’s manager Nawaf Qomosani.

“We know that Jeddah’s people love the water and sea activities, and we also know that they love anime, so that’s why one of the main focuses was to provide international-standard events for these two segments,” he told Arab News.

“Besides that, we also wanted to focus on food and traditional events, and I hope that we covered all kinds of events within this season,” he added.

Qomosani said that organizers faced many challenges on a daily basis to maintain the high quality of events for visitors.

“We wanted to give them the best possible option every day, taking into consideration such factors as the weather and timing. With the great team we have, we overcame these challenges daily,” he said.

Qomosani believes that the City Walk, one of the nine zones, was the highlight of Jeddah Season.

“It had different events that appealed to everyone. You could find events for kids, adults, anime lovers, music lovers. I think that’s the perfect kind of zone that everyone wishes for,” he said.

Some zones such as Luna, Jeddah Superdome, Layalina Theatre, the Yacht Club, and Prince Majid Park will continue to operate after the season ends and until the end of the year. 

It is currently being discussed whether to extend the operation of zones Jeddah Waves and Jeddah June until the end of the year. 

In line with Vision 2030, Jeddah Season provided scores of economic and employment opportunities to more than 74,000 people, of which 80 percent were Saudis, in 14 different professional fields.