Prolight + Sound Middle East 2018

FOR THE 3RD YEAR, PROLIGHT + SOUND AGAIN OPENED ITS DOORS IN DUBAI PUTTING PRODUCT LAUNCHES, CONFERENCES AND TECHNICAL COURSES IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

Key decision makers from the regional entertainment, event, media and creation industries gathered in Dubai in late September as the Prolight + Sound Middle East 2018 trade fair opened to wide fanfare. The 3rd edition of the annual 3-day expo at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, with 42 exhibitors from 10 countries displaying 120-plus brands, representing a healthy 50% increase over the previous year. The footfall at the show also saw a healthy increase with 2,869 pre-audited victors, a 33% rise since 2017.

This year the show welcomed more than 20 new exhibitors from a variety of countries underlying its growing global appeal in a Middle East and African professional Audio Visual (AV) solutions market that’s currently estimated to be worth more than US$5 billion.

Among the debut exhibiters were Gator Cases, Stageline and ADJ, while Claypaky, a subsidiary of the German lighting manufacturer Osram, were also present with its professional lighting systems for the entertainment sector. As well as some new faces the show also welcomed back returning heavyweights, including Germany’s Monacor International, FBT Elettronica from Italy and Czech Republic’s Robe.

This exhibition is very important for our brand because we need to increase our footprint in the region and widen our customer base in the Middle East,” commented Tareq Abu Ghoosh, Sales Representative for Robe. “Being here also helps us to create awareness of our brand and is vital for our marketing strategy. We hope that our participation here makes a difference in our brand image across the region.”

Robe Middle East’s General Manager Elie Battah and Martin Michaud of MDG Fog; Clay Paky’s Fabiano Besio, Alberico D’Amato and Egor Popovski; Roberto Mataloni and Luigi Paoloni of FBT; Hannah Eakins of TPMEA Magazine, Ramon Oolthuis of Admiral Staging Essentials, Lars Toonen of Prolyte, Kevin Boujikian of Provision AVL, Ralph Stockley of Prolyte and Rachael Rogerson-Thorley of mondo*dr magazine; The Robe Middle East stand.

Le Maitre’s Elaine Frost with Kevin Boujikian of Provision AVL; Elie Kheirallah of Venuetech with Grégory Dapsanse and Régis Cazin of APG; The Showtex stand; Ken Weller and colleague of Celestion; Elation Professional’s Frederik Afif.

Also sharing his thoughts was Jos Reulen, Export Sales Manager for ADJ: “Prolight + Sound Middle East is immensely important because it is the only trade show targeting the sound and light professionals, hence it brings together all the key stakeholders, traders and buyers from across the region onto a single platform. We use the show to launch our new products here every year and this has resulted in a lot of new business being generated for us.”

Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East, the organiser of Prolight + Sound Middle East, said: “The Middle East is a rising destination for the events and entertainment industry.

“With the region continuing to feature as an important stop on the annual calendar of leading international performers, demand for top of the rung professional audio and visual equipment will continue to rise. This is even more evident in the UAE, where the professional AV market is estimated to be worth US$707 million in 2018, while Saudi’s nascent entertainment sector will be another major draw, as the Kingdom earmarks US$64 billion to be injected into live events, theme parks, cinema, cultural attractions and tourism over the next decade.

“The momentum is building and will continue to expand in both the fixed spaces as well as further events and productions, and Prolight+ Sound Middle East fills the essential need in the market that is reflective of the enormous developmental energy that is currently driving the regional sector.”

A returning key focal point this year at Prolight + Sound Middle East was the 2nd Events Technology & Entertainment Development Forum, where 24 thought leaders are sharing their ideas on how the UAE and the wider region can continue its rise as a major destination for large scale entertainment, sporting, business and cultural events. Among the highlights were the Experience Session with La Perle by Dragone, Dubai’s only permanent theatre performance, along with key insights into the award-winning installation of a complete sound system in Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

The Venuetech stand, ADJ’s Steven Samaan and Jos Reulen; Ramon Oolthuis of Admiral Staging Essentials, Lars Toonen of Prolyte, Kevin Boujikian of Provision AVL, Ralph Stockley of Prolyte; The La Perle panel.

Meanwhile on the exhibition floor, UAE manufacturer ATEÏS Middle East was another first-time Prolight + Sound Middle East 2018 exhibitor looking to make the most of its participation.

Managing Director Hussam Al Haddad said the show was the perfect fit for ATEÏS’ pro audio products: “Audio is our main product and it’s in our company DNA,” said Al Haddad. “We’re innovators in this segment, whether it’s voice evacuation systems, PA (public address) systems, or professional audio systems. It’s our core business, and as Dubai is our home, Prolight + Sound Middle East is our show.

This year Prolight + Sound Middle East also returned with its successful Dante training workshop by Audinate, where AV professionals can gather more in-depth knowledge about key design concepts and common technologies deployed in typical medium-sized Dante networks.

It’s early days, but Prolight + Sound Middle East is already looking to next year’s event. “We had a small demo zone this year, and we’d like to expand this eventually,” stated Gareth Wright, Head of Public Relations. “We’d also like to extend our workshop programmes to attract more professionals, as well as building on the audio side of the show. We also see Saudi Arabia and Africa as key growth visitor markets, so will look to up the ante in attracting visitors from these markets in the coming years.” www.pls.ae.messefrankfurt.com