October 16, 2014
Manama, Economic Development Board, 16 October 2014: The Economic Development Board (EDB) announced its sponsorship of the upcoming “IGN Convention”, the biggest pop culture and gaming convention hosted in the Kingdom.
The event, which is hosted in cooperation between Bahrain-based Tarteeb Events Organizing and internationally renowned IGN Entertainment is being held for the second year in a row. The convention will take place between the 24th and 25th of October at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
This year’s event will be attended by a multitude of international celebrities, including Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, who played Ser Gregor Clegane, AKA “The Mountain” on the popular television series, the Game of Thrones, as well as Julia Voth, known for her role as the motion capture model of character Jill Valentine in the Resident Evil videogames. The event will also feature regional celebrities, such as emerging young Emirati director Mohammed Fikree, and social media influencer Hamad Qalam.
The event will also feature a large exhibition area with over 70 exhibitors displaying a collection of items related to the event’s different themes, a large artist ally for Bahraini and regional artists to display their work, a gaming tournament sponsored by Batelco which offers prizes, as well as Bahrain’s biggest Cosplay tournament.
For the first time this year, the event will feature a live concert on the last day held by local band “The Experiment” who will play a selection of popular themes from different games, movies and television shows. It will also feature multiple interactive zones in which all guests will have the opportunity to take part in.
Tarteeb Events Organizing’s Director, Mr. Mohammed AlMuharraqi expressed his interest in co-organizing the convention for a second year in a row with IGN Middle-East, which is based in the UAE, given the success of its first event last year that brought together over 4000 pop-culture enthusiasts from Bahrain and from the neighboring GCC countries.
AlMuharraqi added that the IGN Convention’s first year in Bahrain gave spectators the opportunity to exclusively try out gaming consoles, new games that have not been released at the time, and to meet influential celebrities from the gaming industry.
Abbas Jaffar Ali, Director of IGN Middle East stated that organizing such a massive international event in the Kingdom of Bahrain is a good opportunity for boosting the economy and investing in Bahraini youth. He considers the partnership with Tarteeb Events Organizing as one of their successful partnerships, not only in the Kingdom but in the region itself.
Mr. Ali confirmed that this year’s IGN Convention has many celebrity and content surprises in store, and aims to be bigger and better than the previous event, in order to become the best gaming and pop-culture experience in Bahrain, and to ensure the continuity of events of this caliber in the Kingdom.
The Event is sponsored by Batelco, Bahrain Development Bank (BDB), the Economic Development Board (EDB), Tamkeen, and the US Embassy in the Kingdom and is supported by UNIDO.
For more information on tickets kindly contact the organizers at ffairooz@tarteeb.org or visit the event’s website at www.ignconvention.com
