20 February 2017

Crowds flock to Saudi Arabia's first Comic Con

Dressed all in black with her face exposed, Fatima Mohammed Hussein has come to Saudi Arabia's first Comic Con event dressed as Bat Girl.

"The minute I stepped in, I couldn't believe this is happening here," she told CNN. "It's a big move for Saudi to have something like that."

Hussein was one of the many Saudis who dressed up and flocked to the coastal city of Jeddah to celebrate pop culture, comic books, video games, and film between February 16 and 18.

The three-day festival was part of a government initiative to bring more entertainment to Saudi Arabia, which bans public cinemas and theater.

"When you enter into the tent, you forget that you are in Saudi Arabia," Abdul Rahman Bakhsh, 25, an engineer and an avid YouTuber, who came to the event dressed in rustic armor over a black faux suede pullover and armed with a spear, told CNN. [CNN] Read more