JAM EVENT SERVICES

COMPANY PROFILE: JAM EVENT SERVICES

JAM EVENT SERVICES’ JAMES MISTRY TELLS TPMEA HOW THE COMPANY NAVIGATED ITS WAY THROUGH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND IS NOW SET UP TO THRIVE AS THE LIVE EVENTS INDUSTRY BOUNCES BACK.

‘Upskilling’ is a term we’ve all heard a lot of over the past 18 months, with much of the industry taking the enforced hiatus from events as a time to boost staff qualifications and broaden skillsets. While some companies see this as making the best of the terrible hand that the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt the industry, for Dubai-based JAM Event Services, upskilling is – and always has been – the name of the game. “Constant learning is key for us,” commented Founder and Managing Director, James Mistry. “All of the team at JAM are continually sharpening their skills. Our receptionist recently passed her NEBOSH IGC.”

After moving from London to Dubai in 2017, Mistry and JAM haven’t looked back since, working with government authorities, production houses and creative agencies to deliver qualified and experienced event staffing consultants and advisors as well as supporting production, operations and logistics.

Now with a full-time team of 15 across the Middle East, the company also draws from an extensive network of tried-and-tested freelancers in order to provide a more diverse offering. “The team has grown, and our clients appreciate the diversity of our offering,” said Mistry.

In the years since opening in Dubai, JAM has delivered on a range of projects. “There’s never a dull moment,” Mistry reflected, referencing a few highlights, including Special Olympics, Abu Dhabi, Diriyah Oasis, KSA, 100 Year Police Celebrations, Bahrain, and KISS 2020 Goodbye, Dubai to name just a few.

While the pandemic has been a blow to the entire industry, thankfully for JAM, the company was able continue to provide much-needed guidance in the industry’s hour of need. “During lockdown, we delivered a nine-month project for a GCC government agency, writing their Event Safety Guide for the country, which will be released in the coming months,” Mistry revealed. “To have the opportunity to forge the safety landscape of a country is very special.”

JAM was also appointed as H&S Consultants and Advisors for three Emirates Temporary COVID-19 Hospital builds across the UAE during the height of the pandemic. “This is where

the real COVID-19 learning took place, with live outbreaks onsite during the build,” Mistry recalled. “This laid the foundation for the COVID-19 Management Plan we still use today – a constantly updated document depending on what area of the Middle East we are working in and based on the most recent guidance. As is now very clear, COVID-19 is not going anywhere any time soon. It’s the safe management of the associated risks that we need to look at, in order to continue helping our clients deliver outstanding events.”

Throughout the pandemic, JAM has been at the forefront of several ground-breaking events – one of which was the unveiling of the new world’s largest fountain on the Palm in October 2020. “JAM was tasked with delivering the event safety, crowd management and COVID-19 safety,” said Mistry. “It was the first UAE event in COVID times where 6,000 ticketed guests had been invited to an event with the possibility of thousands more turning up.”

Just two weeks after the successful delivery on the Palm, JAM followed up the achievement with another even larger event – this time with some 20,000 people in attendance for the Dubai Ride with LINK VIVA and DTCM. “There were no other events of that size anywhere in the world at the time,” Mistry recalled. “The learnings from the previous 10 months were put into action to deliver the event safely.”

According to Mistry, Saudi Arabia is an increasingly important market – so much so that the company is now opening its own base in the Kingdom. “We’ve been delivering services in Al’Ula, Riyadh, Diriyah, Dammam and Jeddah for over three years, with 50% of our business coming from the Kingdom,” he commented.

“The volume of work to be delivered in the coming five to 10 years is monumental. The demand for knowledge and education is also huge from locally based KSA companies, so education will form part of our core offering to upskill the young population.”

With the Riyadh operation already up and running, the company is now looking to grow the Saudi-based team. “We are going through a recruitment drive for permanent staff at the moment,” commented Mistry. “With the recent recruitment of some senior H&S figures in the Middle East market, it puts us in a strong place for large-scale delivery.”

JAM also recently implemented safety management systems for companies in the UAE and KSA – one of which was for one of the top agencies in Riyadh – something Mistry described as “an ongoing piece of work”. He added: “It takes time to change people’s perceptions, to build new ways of working and understand the reasons behind it. It starts with senior management – once you have their buy in, change will happen.”

The rest of 2020 and the start of 2021 are looking “exciting and busy” for JAM. “We have operational and HSE management of several pavilions at Expo 2020, new projects with KSA government agencies and we are in talks to deliver HSE venue services at new permanent venues in the Middle East,” Mistry revealed. “On the event staffing side, we now have a huge selection of local and international vetted resources, so we are ideally suited to service the return of events across the Middle East.”

In the longer term, Mistry is aiming to continue to provide top-quality services to the company’s clients, staying customer centric and investing in people and company infrastructure. “It’s an exciting time for the entire event industry in the Middle East, after the slower 18 months we’ve been through. JAM Event Services is ready to continue being the support system for our clients, to help them do what they do best.” Photos: JAM Events Services www.jameventservices.com email: workwithus@jameventservices.com