54
COMPANY PROFILE
“We’ve seen packed calendars at both the Etihad and Coca-Cola Arenas and the return of huge global events such as the Formula One Abu Dhabi and Dubai World Cup, as well as Expo 2020. It all bodes well. We’re getting back to where we should be.” Peter Green, GME Events.
with no specific time limit.” Another highlight for the company came last month, when GME Events put on its first music show – The Kooks at CocaCola Arena. “Being able to bring The Kooks to Dubai to perform at the city’s biggest indoor arena was a huge step forward and means that we can now add that string of music shows to our bow,” Green commented. “It means that we’ve now organised arena-level shows in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which I’m extremely proud of.” Of course, it hasn’t all been plane sailing, with the constant threat of ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions presenting a huge logistical
ME
challenge throughout the company’s short life so far. “The main challenge we’ve faced has been the ever-shifting landscape regarding COVID-19. The rules and regulations were and continue to be very important to get the UAE back to where it should be. However, for those working in this industry they have presented a massive logistical challenge in terms of organising events,” he reflected. “Quite often, the rules would change from the time that we announced and put tickets on sale for a show, to the date of the performance, so we’d suddenly have to change our approach at the last minute. It’s something that everyone had to deal with and we all did the
best we could under the circumstances.” Thankfully, the events industry seems to have turned a corner since COVID-19 and things are now heading in the right direction. “If you look at the past six months, the country has shown it is united in terms of the events industry and the importance of having a thriving community,” Green stated. “We’ve seen packed calendars at both the Etihad and CocaCola Arenas and the return of huge global events such as the Formula One Abu Dhabi and Dubai World Cup, as well as Expo 2020. It all bodes well. We’re getting back to where we should be.” For Green and GME, the focus remains on doing
