Teknofest, Turkey’s largest aerospace and technology gathering and one of the world’s biggest aviation events, is due to kick off next week in Istanbul.

The six-day event will start on Tuesday at Atatürk Airport and will offer a range of activities, from air shows with warplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters to seminars, summits, competitions and fairs.

The 2021 edition has already seen some technology competitions being held prior to the main event. The festival features dozens of competitions in categories such as smart transportation, helicopter design, biotechnology, robotics, flying cars, rockets and unmanned underwater systems.

Nearly 50,000 teams are said to have applied to take part in the competitions in 35 different categories.

Organized by the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation) and the Industry and Technology Ministry, Teknofest is held in various Turkish cities in even years and in the metropolis of Istanbul in odd years.

Selçuk Bayraktar, the chairperson of the T3 Foundation, said that twice as many applications were received for competitions this year.

Last year, the event was organized virtually in southern Gaziantep province due to the coronavirus pandemic measures.

In 2019, some 1.72 million people visited the event in Istanbul.