MUSCAT, 16 February 2004 — Muscat Festival 2004 is a great success. The response from the public has been overwhelming. The visitors — from within the country and abroad — have been flocking to the various venues of the festival, and their number has already swelled to one million. This, naturally, means there is heavy movement, of both people and vehicles, everyday, creating congestion.

People are milling around the festival venues to enjoy the rich and varied cultural and entertainment feasts that are on offer. It is this variety and abundance that is drawing people in their thousands. The tremendous response underlines the need to look for more convenient venues to stage future festivals.

The success of the Muscat Festival is not confined to the Sultanate; its reputation has transcended the borders — the Muscat Festival is now an international event. Various land, air and sea entry points have witnessed the flow of a large number of visitors. There were people from many parts of the world, especially from the GCC states, and this itself is proof of the festival’s global fame.

If you went in the direction of Qurum Natural Park, an important Muscat Festival venue, you would notice traffic jams. Cars coming from all directions paralyze the traffic. So you require a great deal of time and patience to reach the park as the traffic moves at a pace slower than a snail’s. This is not the end of the ordeal; what follows — the search for parking space — is even worse. The Qurum car park has a small capacity and this is why many visitors are forced to park anywhere and everywhere, and this includes even the pavement.

The crowding throughout the period of the festival days affects the spirit of the visitors as well as the inhabitants of the areas near the festival venues, who find it difficult to get to their homes. What is more, they are annoyed by the high volume of music, drumbeats and fireworks.

There is no doubt that the Muscat Festival has become a marvelous success and will continue to be so in the years to come. It is here to stay, attracting more and more visitors from the country and abroad. That is why the organizers need to seriously think about changing the site of the festival.

This is what we are proposing to Muscat Municipality and to the organizing committee of the festival; move the venues of the festival outside the network of the city’s residential area. No doubt, there is a need to find a special location for holding the festival. The traffic congestion in Qurum area could well be avoided by providing a large car park. Muscat Municipality and the organizing committee may also consider erecting temporary flyovers directly leading to the venues of the festival. However, this would not solve the problem because the number of visitors is on the increase year after year. Therefore, the ideal solution is relocation of the venues to a place away from the hustle and bustle of city life. There is no dearth of such locations.

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(Essa ibn Mohammed Al-Zedjali is editor in chief of the Times of Oman.)