Middle East Event and Entertainment industry poised on brink of explosive growth


Posted January 22, 2019 by bizcom20

Even as the Middle East becomes an increasingly important destination for events and entertainment on a truly global scale

 
Dubai, UAE: Even as the Middle East becomes an increasingly important destination for events and entertainment on a truly global scale, the regional events and entertainment industry is looking ahead to a period of rapid sustained growth, as well as transformational developments in technology and scale.

According to market estimates, the events and entertainment industry in the UAE alone is expected to surge at an average of 6.5% yearly till 2021, even as the region becomes a hub for gigantic events, entertainment spectaculars, leisure features, amusement parks and cultural monuments that attract tourists by the millions.

Not surprisingly, interest has been building among local events and entertainment industry professionals in the upcoming 2nd Events, Technology and Entertainment Development Forum, which will be held on the sidelines of Prolight + Sound Middle East, later this month. This comes as the industry searches for effective methods and strategies to sustain growth in size and scale and chalk out effective roadmaps for the future.

The two-day forum will feature a wide range of international events and entertainment industry experts, who will address key developmental issues facing the industry today and also explore the innovative trends and developments that will affect the industry in the future, as well as presenting case studies on some of the region's most successful projects.

"As the events and entertainment industry continues to develop rapidly across the region. the increasing number of large scale events being held here and the push by governments across the Middle East to create tourism and event-related infrastructure, create the need for an authoritative industry-focused forum, where regional industry professionals can network and exchange ideas with leading international experts, even as their industry is undergoing an exciting phase in its development," said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East, organisers of Prolight+Sound Middle East.

The Forum will feature a number of leading lights from the events and entertainment industry, many of whom were extremely optimistic about the event and looked ahead to a region that continues to push the envelope as far as the events and entertainment industry goes.

Elie Khairallah, Technical Director of Venuetech, who will be speaking at the forum, was responsible for installing the complete sound system for Abu Dhabi's Grand Mosque. The system is state of the art and customized for effective 24/7 continuous operability.

Speaking of the challenges in completing such an iconic project Khairallah said: "Civil works; in such an iconic project like the Grand Mosque, where the walls are in special marble covered in gold and precious materials, we had to take extra precautions to avoid any damage. The other challenge was: working after 10 pm since the Mosque remains operational during the day with visitors from all over the world. In the end though, our greatest satisfaction was in providing the highest performance and exceeding our expected simulation, and to handover the project within the timeline of the project."

Another featured speaker at the Forum will be Tim Routledge, Lighting Designer and Director at Tim Routledge Lighting Design Ltd, UK, who has been involved in setting the stage for Beyonce's World Tour in 2016 and the Sam Smith World Tour.

Speaking of the need for concert lighting and stage designers to push the creative envelope, he said: "Productions more than ever are taking their inspiration from architecture (and vice versa) as well as fashion and art more and more. So we should challenge the spaces that we perform in, Arena shows can become stale and there are many ways we can explore and use the spaces.

"There is a bit of an arms race with artistes to have unique shows, no one wants the same old style of show so we are being asked to look at all possibilities of where and how to stage a show. Breaking the rules on lighting doesn’t just apply to a whole show. Look at one individual song in a show and look how you can break convention. Concert lighting is not just about a moving light rig anymore, you can create a rig using anything. Wiggling moving lights around feels cheap and old now - it’s more about detail and concept now," Routledge said.

Meanwhile, Thomas Oveson, Chief Programming Officer for Dubai Arena felt that the region still had some way to go before becoming a frontline destination for live events. "We might still be an emerging market in some ways compared to other regions but in the UAE, and Dubai in particular, with the introduction of more entertainment venues, parks and theme parks and indeed purpose built live entertainment venues like the Opera House and now Dubai Arena we are already becoming a natural stop over for most touring shows and artists ... and going forward also during the hot summer months!"

Jonathan Tulip, AV Specialist for Venav Technology Consultants was of the opinion that the progress in AV technology has set the stage for an exciting future. "The current approach to AV schematics has been overtaken by technology we have moved from analogue and digital signals travelling along discrete wires to multiple signal streams travelling along dynamically assigned network paths.

"The traditional AV schematic no longer has the capacity to describe today’s network and application based systems. When everything is networked all points are interconnected and the humble wiring diagram loses its meaning. While the rules are the same only the language has changed. Audio Visual has the same aims and goals, the evolution is in the tools we use to deliver those goals. Whatever the user experience be that entertainment, presentation, remote collaboration, advertising or education," Tulip stated.

Prolight + Sound Middle East 2018, the industry’s premier regional trade fair will feature more than 40 exhibitors showcasing 100-plus brands when doors open for the 3rd time from 23-25 September 2018 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Prolight + Sound Middle East is the fifth instalment of the international network of Prolight + Sound events worldwide, and is co-located with Light Middle East 2018, the region’s dedicated exhibition, conference, and awards for lighting design and technology. More information is available at:www.pls.ae.messefrankfurt.com.
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Last Updated January 22, 2019