Turkey: Nearly 40,000 teams to compete in Teknofest

ISTANBUL

Turkey's largest aerospace and technology contest -- Teknofest -- has received applications from nearly 40,000 teams, its organizer said.

Selcuk Bayraktar, the chairman of the event's organizer Turkish Technology Team Foundation, said in a tweet that twice as many applications were received this year.

Last year, 16,034 applications were received, with the figure doubling to 39,684 this year, Teknofest said in a tweet.

The event will be held on Sept. 21-26 in Istanbul's Ataturk Airport.

Prizes will be given in 35 categories, including transportation, drones, satellites, robots, agriculture, biotechnology, AI, and flying cars.

The festival will also host a number of activities, including seminars, exhibitions, summits, and air shows.

Last year, the third edition of the major technology event was held in Turkey's southeastern Gaziantep province in September.

The event did not accept visitors, and was broadcast live through social media platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, the second edition of the event welcomed 1.72 million visitors in Istanbul.

Teknofest is held in Istanbul in odd years, while in other cities in even years.

Anadolu Agency has been the global communication partner of the event since 2018.