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FIRST LOOK MIDDLE EAST
LIVE NATION’S KAREN BEATON THE COMPANY’S OPERATIONS DIRECTOR GIVES HER TAKE ON THE CHANGING FACE OF THE MIDDLE EAST EVENTS INDUSTRY AHEAD OF ANOTHER UNCONVENTIONALLY BUSY SUMMER.
In years gone by, the onset of summer months was enough to send our target audiences into a frenzy of suitcase packing and air ticket purchasing - and generally signaled the annual slowdown of the Middle East show season. This was our time, as industry players, to reflect on our hard-won productions, celebrate our successes, mull over the challenges that the year has brought us, and feel uplifted by clever solutions that we devised to keep the show on the road. And then we too would pack up - all these valuable experiences and precious nuggets of wisdom gained - ready to be dusted off and put into action for the next eclectic mix of productions for the forthcoming season. So what has changed? Well... lots actually. The 2018 season within the regional entertainment sector has been a whirlwind of activity. With new and developing markets emerging within the region and in Asia, it has been a time of exciting changes and trends, and the summer shows no signs of stopping. The increase in options for indoor multi-purpose venues has re-energised the summer show market - a very smart move, given that we no longer see the mass exodus of the population during the summer months, and now have a captive audience looking for entertainment to distract them from the increasingly hot and sweaty weather heading our way. Unite with Tomorrowland will return to the UAE in July and the Dubai Opera House summer programme continues with its diverse array of performing arts. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, although a relative newcomer to the table, is determinedly growing its entertainment sector, pursuing a national vision of being a globally recognised entertainment buyer and producer to the world market by 2030. This has certainly garnered attention, and a number of the key players within our industry have sat up and taken note. The announcement of Entertainment City on the outskirts of Riyadh has further fueled international interest, as major entertainment operators begin to scout out the emerging opportunities within the kingdom. Other market innovations show that WWE have confirmed a 10-year deal with the GSA, which will firmly route the media giant as a touring mainstay for the country; AMC Entertainment in collaboration with DIEC opened their first cinema in Riyadh in April, with a further 40 set to be launched over the next 5 years, and possibly most noteworthy of all, Nelly played a male-only concert in Jeddah alongside Cheb Khaled in December last year. Woman power also came to the fore in the recent TPMEA Awards held in Dubai in May, when no less than 5 of the 10 award categories being snapped up by women in the industry. Previously the unsung heroines of backstage production, these brave souls have shown that
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