As the curtains come down on Football Fan Festival with the final match between Argentina and France on Sunday, the mega-event exceeded expectations.
Speaking exclusively to the Observer, Lyutha al Habsy (pictured), adviser, brand and marketing, Omran, said, “The festival exceeded all expectations, and I am proud that the Oman World Cup Programme managed to pull out an event of this caliber for the people of the Sultanate.”
She said, “At the end of the semis, we had a footfall of around 80,000 (estimated from only ticket receipts), and there was a major demand in the purchase of tickets as the World Cup moved into the knock-out or the do-or-die stages.”
Tickets for the final have already been sold out, and with matches starting early, we can expect more families at the venue.
The biggest night was the Morocco-Spain match, and Lyutha agreed that Morocco was the crowd-puller at the Fan Festival.
“We have a sizeable Moroccan population in the Sultanate, and they were organised, bringing the African and Arab brand of celebrations in costumes, musical and celebrations to the festival.”
She added, “We expected that fans would come for a match and then leave during the break. But to our surprise, they would stay for the night match, which helped the F&B businesses as they took advantage of various activities at the venue.”
“I am so proud of what has been put together, raising the bar for events to be held in Muscat. 300 Omani volunteers were getting hands-on experience in dealing with staging and managing events of this kind in the future.”
The Fan Festival offered opportunities to organise more events for the country to celebrate, keeping in mind the mood of the market and the viability of the private sector. “Most important challenge while organising a mega event that runs for a long period is to keep the visitors engaged and interested so that they make a return visit.” She said the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre is a strategic location, and “I could not have asked for a better venue, plus they have expertise in organising events.”
The Football Fan Festival offers a wide variety of activities, competitions, food stalls, and more that the visitors were entertained for the remainder of the festival.
There is a daily prize draw for visitors until the tournament concludes on Sunday.
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