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GME EVENTS: ONE YEAR ON
Eithad Arena General Manager, Brint Jackson; Comedian, Michael McIntyre; GME Events Founder, Peter Green.
GME EVENTS: A YEAR ON
WITH OVER 15,000 TICKETS SOLD AND SUCCESSFUL EVENTS IN SOME OF THE UAE’S TOP VENUES, GME EVENTS HAS HAD A STRONG DEBUT YEAR. NOW, AS FOUNDER, PETER GREEN EXPLAINS, THE COMPANY IS AIMING TO BUILD ON ITS INITIAL SUCCESS.
After launching last year in the midst of the global pandemic, GME Events has quickly gained a reputation for attracting some of the biggest names in comedy to perform in the UAE. From the company’s debut show – Jack Whitehall at the Dubai World Trade Centre – to performances from the likes of Jack Dee, Michael McIntyre, Rob Beckett, Russell Kane, and Russell Peters, GME Events has had an opening year to remember.
“The original aim of GME Events was to focus on our strengths, which is putting on comedy shows, utilising the network that I have with UK comedians and their representatives,” commented GME Events Founder, Peter Green, looking back on his first year. “I was looking to see if those strengths and that access could lead into something, and thankfully, so far it has worked well.”
After spending eight years at Done Events, working on shows such as the Dubai Jazz Festival, RedFestDXB and the DXBLaughs series of comedy events, Green recalled how the move to set out on his own happened very quickly.
“It was only a matter of weeks from my last day at Done Events to finalising an agreement with Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Shopping Festival to host the Jack Whitehall show,” he reminisced. “That first show was a big highlight for me. To see the screens at DWTC with the GME logo was the moment it really dawned on me that this was real, it was happening and there was no turning back.”
Now, a year on and with over 15,000 tickets sold for shows at venues including Dubai Opera, Coca-Cola Arena, and Etihad Arena, Green is proud of the achievement so far, yet still hungry for more.
“What we must remember is that we’ve only been in business for a very short period of time compared to a lot of the more established companies out there, so we’re still very much in our infancy,” he highlighted. “Our only aims are to sustain the success we’ve had so far, build on it and see where we end up. It’s an ongoing goal
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 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
what they do best. “We proved with The Kooks that we’re capable of doing other things and there’s no reason why we wouldn’t explore other prospects like that if the conditions are right and the opportunity is there. However, comedy is our bread and butter, and it will remain so for the foreseeable future,” he shared. “Our first year set a high bar and it’s up to us to keep that going now. I anticipate a lot more competition this year, with big-name promoters activating more in the UAE, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out,” Green concluded.
“In the long term, we’d like to expand the company, looking at opening different divisions servicing different areas of the industry and territories. We’ve already had a few enquiries from outside the UAE and it’s something we’ve got an eye on to see how we can collaborate with other people and companies to expand.” Photos: GME Events www.gme-events.com
