TEKNOFEST, Türkiye’s flagship aviation, space, and technology festival, drew 225,000 visitors to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), contributing to its overall attendance of almost 10.7 million since its debut in 2018.
The event took place from May 1-4 at Ercan International Airport in Lefkosa, featuring a diverse range of activities including tech competitions, flight demonstrations, workshops for children aged 6-14, aircraft exhibitions, planetarium screenings, space exhibition and simulation areas, as well as historical exhibitions related to the Cyprus Peace Operation and Turkish Resistance Organization.
Aerial Demonstrations and Competitions
The festival showcased several acrobatic aircraft demonstrations, including performances by the Turkish Stars and SoloTurk, along with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrations. A total of 47,000 contestants from 22 countries participated in the competitions, with 268 finalist teams comprising 1,083 contestants competing on-site.
Organization and Significance
TEKNOFEST TRNC is recognized as the largest aviation, space, and technology festival in the region, organized under the TRNC Presidency by the Turkish Technology Team (T3) and the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology. Anadolu served as the global communications partner for the event.
Muhammet Saymaz, TEKNOFEST’s secretary-general, emphasized the event’s significance, stating it was one of Türkiye’s most popular brands. He noted that the organizing team aimed to create meaningful experiences for TRNC youth through workshops and demonstrations, observing that families attended with optimism for the future.
TEKNOFEST’s History and Growth
Since its inception in 2018, TEKNOFEST has grown significantly. It began with 550,000 visitors in Istanbul, increasing to 1.72 million in 2019. After a closed-door event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it attracted 1 million visitors in Istanbul in 2021. The festival expanded internationally to Baku in 2022 with 300,000 visitors and drew 1.25 million in Samsun the same year. In 2023, TEKNOFEST events in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir collectively welcomed over 4.5 million visitors. The TRNC event this year brought the total visitor count to nearly 10.7 million.
The number of competition participants has also seen substantial growth, from 20,000 applicants in 2018 to nearly 3.7 million contestants cumulatively since then. The total number of teams participating has reached 1.4 million as of the latest event.
