Jimmy Wales, the founder of the Wikipedia site, said, "It is a great honor to be with you tonight in this event that speaks of innovation and I am happy to see this great crowd of young innovators at this event... I see thousands of people around me, I am very excited," he said. "This event is one of the most important things for a country that has great ambition to become the gateway to technology in the Middle East." He said that one of the smart things about the effectiveness of this event is its idea is to meet and think about things to improve the experience of millions of pilgrims. Steve Wozniak, Apple's co-founder, said that success is not about imitating others but about innovation and the creation and development of ideas, and that for private enterprise to succeed, you have to work hard and "you must love what you do." The opening ceremony included a dialogue session entitled "Saudi Arabia, the emerging technology portal." The first edition of "Hackathon of Hajj" attracts developers from countries, including the Kingdom, the Gulf States and the world. More than 20,000 people have been registered, 3,000 of whom have been selected to participate. Google has supported the event and has held several workshops for participants. The Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones has allocated prizes for this event and funding for participants 'projects amounting to SR2 million, in order to transform participants' ideas into projects. The prize was divided into three: the first place is SR 1 million, while the second winner receives SR 500,000 and the third is SR 350,000, while SR 150,000 goes for excellence. Competition in the event includes the sectors surrounding the Hajj season, its services and challenges, including food and beverages, public health, financial solutions, transportation, crowd management, traffic control, travel and accommodation arrangements, waste and waste management, housing and communication solutions. --SPA 03:11 LOCAL TIME 00:11 GMT 0040 www.spa.gov.sa/w724631