Comic books, video games and pop art have been a part of youth culture through the generations. Known worldwide, ComicCon is symbolic of a convention giving a platform to cosplayers, costume designers, artists, developers and fans to dive into their fandoms!
Conventions like these have been popping up in various parts of the world and in the region in Dubai and other places, a group of young Omanis took up the challenge of creating a similar platform for the youth of Oman and launched 968Gamez!
968Gamez is the brainchild of Social Mania along with Axis Events, making this huge event was made possible with the support of their strategic partners: Opera Galleria & Riyada, Gold Sponsor Bank Dhofar, other sponsors including Hi FM & Hala FM, Chiko, Burgaroo & Oman Events, the event will be presented by Omantel.
The event will include a variety of activities including cosplay, video games, celebrity panels, workshops, photography, anime and manga artwork, game development and such along with stalls set up by local and regional SMEs selling products like technology, artwork and other youth-related items.
Mustafa Al Ajmi, a part of Social Mania said, “we didn’t want anything that wasn’t related to the youth, we wanted to do something fun and interesting.”
The event will also host competitions including 10 video game challenges and a cosplay competition. Before the event, the team ensured to do thorough research with young individuals to find out exactly what people wanted to see, experience and enjoy.
Hosting panels and interacting with the crowds will be celebrities with experience in the industry including Tariq Al Arabi Tourqan, the main song producer for Classic cartoons like Mowgli, Captain Tsubasa, for “Space Toon” kids channel and Mohammed Al Arabi Tourqan, the lead singer for most Arabic cartoons on “Space Toon” kids channel. They will sing old classics from these cartoons and give the crowd a chance to sing along and enjoy these iconic songs from their childhood.
Also present at the event will be:
Lisle Wilkerson - American Voice actor is famously known for her voice as Christina Monteiro, Nina Williams from Tekken V along with voicing over characters on Virtual Fighter, Tekken, Crazy Taxi, Hello Kitty.
Baraa Abdullah - Bahrain TV presenter and event MC – Known for hosting gaming and comic book conventions across the GCC including ComicCon Dubai and ComicCon Abu Dhabi.
Rashid Al Khoory: Rashid is the founder of “cosplay generations” and an event organizer most known for as the cosplaying Iron Man’s Hulkbuster — a 3-meter-tall animatronic Iron Man suit, which will be present at the event.
Hosting workshops in art like manga, anime, YouTube, game development and design will be Khadija Al Saeedi, a passionate Omani cartoonist living in Abu Dhabi (UAE). Graduated from Cartoon Network Animation Academy and worked as an animation studio artist in Cartoon Network Studios Arabia for 4 years.
Ameera Al Sheikh, an outstanding digital artist and animator who is known for her unique and amusing artwork and Fatma Almheiri an award-winning Emirati comic artist, who’s best known for her role as the creator, writer & director of the mini Emirati animated series “EMARA”.
968Gamez has been listed as one of the biggest gaming/comic conventions in the region, along with ComicCon Dubai, Kuwait and pride themselves with hosting an event that is completely by and for the youth of Oman along with the support of the involvement of important people in the industry from around the region.
Mustafa shared, “before the sponsors had come forth and before opera galleria, it was the SMEs and the youth that were first to support us, especially with their motivation. They motivated us because they wanted a platform like this as the international ones were beyond the reach of most and their keenness is what motivated and pushed us to go beyond our own expectations and make this event as big as we could.”
VIP tickets are for 10 OMR which including meet and greet sessions with the celebrities, a draw to win an iPhone X & access to all three days. Day tickets are 2 OMR and are available at the door.
Presale has also started. To find out more about the event and ticket sales, follow them on their Instagram page @968gamez
The event will be hosted at the Opera Galleria first floor parking on the 8, 9 and 10 March from 4 pm to 11 pm.
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