Muscat: Muscat Festival will be held from January 18 to February 11 next year, a Muscat Municipality official has said.

“Muscat Festival will be held as planned in 2017. The tendering process is on. However, the duration of the festival has been reduced keeping in mind a number of factors,” the official told Muscat Daily.

After the government announced a host of austerity measures this year, speculations were rife that the extravagant cultural festival would either be scrapped or would be held in just one venue.

“There were talks that Muscat Festival will be scrapped because of the economic crisis. I hope it stays as a lot of people make money out of it,” said Mubarak al Dhawi, a resident of Amerat.

Another resident Hamoud Khalfan, a resident of Ma’abela said, “I had heard that the organisers were planning to hold the festival in just one venue. That would mean a lot of chaos.”

The official said that the festival will be held at both Amerat Park and Naseem Gardens like in previous editions.

“The venues remain the same and Amerat Park will host cultural activities as usual.”

The organisers are planning to include new and interesting events to attract more visitors, the official added.