SAUDI ARABIA: Nobody gave Ahmed al-Dainiy a second glance on Thursday as he walked among the youthful crowd on the opening day of Saudi Arabia's first Comic Con event, wearing a horse head mask.
Dainiy, 18, was among thousands of people who filled a recreation centre in the Red Sea city of Jeddah for the international pop culture event which is helping to break stereotypes about the Islamic kingdom.
The three-day festival of anime, pop art, video gaming and film-related events is part of a government initiative to bring more entertainment to Saudi Arabia which bans alcohol, public cinemas and theatre.
Unrelated men and women are normally segregated in Saudi Arabia, where restaurants have separate sections for "single" men and families.
Comic Con had different male and female entrances but inside the darkened hall, where conversation was drowned out by rock music, there was barely room to move, and men and women were side-by-side.
The line to enter stretched for more than 100 metres (yards) when the event opened in mid-afternoon.
@Saudicomiccon We are ready
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