Hojat-ol-Islam Ehsan Alaeian, an official with the seminaries management center, made the remark at the closing ceremony of the festival’s fourth edition.
The ceremony was held in the northeastern Iranian holy city of Mashhad on Monday.
Alaeian noted that the fourth edition began in August and included competitions in different fields, educational programs and Quranic programs.
He noted that while 17,000 individuals attended the previous edition, the number rose to 22,000 this year and that it is expected to grow to nearly 70,000 next year.
Winners of top three ranks in each categories were honored at the closing ceremony of the festival.