2025 Istanbul Competitions

Year

Stakeholders


DEVELOPING AND PRODUCING TECHNOLOGY FOR A TÜRKİYE

 

TEKNOFEST is the world’s largest aerospace and technology festival, playing a critical role in the development of national technology in Türkiye and organized in partnership with numerous institutions.

Inaugurated in 2018, TEKNOFEST features tech competitions, air shows, concerts, talks and other events designed to ignite society’s interest in technology and raise awareness about Türkiye’s emergence as a technology-developing nation. Tech competitions in various fields and categories take place within the scope of TEKNOFEST, providing opportunities for hundreds of thousands of young people to make their dreams come true.

The inaugural festiva202l, held at Istanbul Airport in 2018, featured competitions in 14 categories, attracting 4,333 teams and 20,000 individual applications. In contrast, TEKNOFEST 2019, hosted at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, received 17,373 team applications and 50,000 individual applications from all of Türkiye’s 81 provinces and 122 countries for tech competitions spanning 19 categories. The following year, TEKNOFEST was held at the Middle East Expo Center in Gaziantep, featuring tech competitions across 21 categories that attracted 20,197 teams and 100,000 young people from 81 provinces and 84 countries. The fourth edition of TEKNOFEST took place at Atatürk Airport in 2021, bringing together 44,192 teams and 200,000 individual applicants from across Türkiye and 111 nations for tech competitions spanning 35 categories. In 2022, TEKNOFEST Karadeniz unfolded in Türkiye’s Black Sea region, centered around Samsun’s Çarşamba Airport, showcasing 40 tech competitions aligned with the focal points of the future. The event drew applications from over 154,000 teams and more than 600,000 contestants from all of the country’s 81 provinces and 107 countries. Later that year, TEKNOFEST expanded beyond Türkiye's borders, making its debut at the Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event featured 10 tech competitions that garnered 1,010 team applications and 5,636 individual applications. Last year, TEKNOFEST took place in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, hosting tech competitions spanning 41 categories, all aligned with the focal points of the future. These competitions attracted applications from over 333,000 teams and more than 1 million individuals from all 81 Turkish provinces and 96 countries. At TEKNOFEST Mediterranean 2024, held in Antalya, over 200,000 teams and more than 800,000 young people participated in technology competitions across 50 different categories. TEKNOFEST Adana 2024, held in Adana, was once again a spectacular event. Held from October 2-6 at Adana Şakirpaşa Airport, the event attracted 1.1 million visitors. With 50 main categories and 128 subcategories, over 1.65 million young people from 100 countries participated in the technology competitions, taking significant steps toward becoming the technology leaders of the future.


TEKNOFEST Excitement in the Sister Nation: Technology and National Spirit Come Together in the TRNC

The world’s largest Aerospace and Technology Festival, TEKNOFEST, was held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) from May 1–4, 2025, with great excitement and the participation of hundreds of thousands.

Hosted at the Former Ercan Airport in Nicosia, the four-day TEKNOFEST TRNC welcomed 225,000 visitors, bringing together technology, science, and national pride. The highly attended festival featured numerous events over the course of four days.

Throughout the action-packed festival, young talents showcased their skills in the technology competition tents. The competitions spanned 6 main categories and 13 subcategories, including the Social Innovation Contest, Flying Car Simulation Contest, and the TEKNOFEST Robolig Blue Homeland Contest. Events catering to all ages such as the Science Street, Space Exhibition, Planetarium, XR Experience Zones, Cyprus Peace Operation Experience Zone, Turkish Resistance Organization National Struggle Exhibition Area, and DENEYAP Workshops were organized throughout the TRNC. Aerial performances by the Turkish Stars, SOLOTÜRK, Bayraktar Akıncı, Bayraktar TB2, Hürkuş, and other aircraft captivated the audience throughout the festival.
 

TEKNOFEST’s Second Stop in 2025 Will Be Istanbul, Featuring Competitions in 53 Different Categories!

TEKNOFEST, known for its ever-evolving competition categories and hosting Türkiye’s largest prize-winning technology contests, will make its second stop in 2025 in Istanbul. Competitions will be held in 53 main categories and 126 subcategories. Teams that pass the preliminary selection stage will receive over 85 million TL in financial support, while those who earn top rankings will be awarded prizes totaling more than 65 million TL.