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Middle East Events Industry Gets its Own ‘Oscars’
The regional events industry is to get its own ‘Oscars’ with the launch of The Middle East Event Awards at Event 360, a dedicated vertical show for event organisers and suppliers, held under the umbrella of PALME Middle East 2008 exhibition.
The inaugural awards, hosted by leading events’ publication meetme (Meet Middle East) magazine, will take place on Sunday 27 April 2008 and is open to companies who plan, manage, supply or service exhibitions; consumer, corporate and public events; weddings, parties, concerts, venues and theatres.
“Many professionals in the events and meetings industry benchmark themselves internationally, but the awards will for the first time provide a platform to showcase innovation and demonstrate the capabilities of regional organisers. We want to recognise and reward the best practitioners to encourage further growth of this important industry sector,” commented Rob Nicholas of meetme.
The award categories include Events of the Year in meetings, conferences and congresses; trade and consumer exhibitions; fairs and festivals; as well as public entertainment, cultural and sporting events. There will also be categories for event products, services and support including production, lighting, sound, theme and logistics.
Two top categories are set to become the highest accolade in the Middle East events industry and will recognise significant personal achievement in the region. They will be for outstanding contribution to the Middle East events industry and a lifetime achievement award.
“It is the ‘Oscars’ for the industry professionals who actually organise and manage these types of events, in essence the people behind the headlines – the unsung heroes,” claimed Exhibition Director Alex Heuff.
A judging panel will be made up of internationally recognised figures from a variety of sectors and disciplines. Entries will close on 21 March 2008.
Regional industry has been quick to support the awards initiative with the International Festival and Events Association taking platinum sponsorship, along with events infrastructure company Purple Fire which event manages the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Event 360, an integral part of PALME Middle East 2008 exhibition, takes place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre on 27-29 April 2008. PALME is dedicated to the region's rapidly developing entertainment sectors, events areas, concert halls, shopping malls, commercial and residential developments, leisure and hotel facilities that require professional sound, light, audio visual and systems integration solutions.
Organisers IIR Exhibitions have re-branded Event 360 into a dedicated vertical show following extraordinary growth in the regional events sector. The Gulf countries especially are heavily focused upon the tourism, leisure, construction and entertainment industries resulting in overwhelming demand for professional audio, lighting, audio visual and systems integration products and services.
“The show attracts key public and private event organisers and planners, especially from the burgeoning hotels and leisure industry. As well as sourcing new and creative ideas, they are looking for the latest and most innovative products and services the industry has to offer,” added Heuff.
11th February 2008
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