While the Olympic Games in Paris grabbed global sporting headlines this summer, in September, Kazakhstan hosted its own sporting spectacle, the fifth World Nomad Games – a celebration of traditional sports and cultural identity from across central Asia. Held in the country’s capital, Astana, the Games began with a grand opening ceremony attended by over 2,500 athletes from 89 countries and featuring a parade of nations and cultural performances to the backdrop of a spectacular multimedia stage show. The show featured vibrant visual effects including a massive lighting display, which included 13,500 Enjoygalaxy Torches installed next to every seat, transforming…
Author: Peter Iantorno
What are the main aims of the new partnership? The partnership aims to solidify the venue’s role as a leading entertainment destination, hosting a diverse array of events such as concerts, cultural performances, exhibitions, and conferences. Live Nation Arabia will manage various operational aspects at Maraya. This collaboration underscores UDC’s dedication to preserving, enhancing, and celebrating AlUla’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. How versatile is the Maraya in terms of being able to host a range of different events? Maraya can accommodate a multitude of events from small business meetings to large-scale events, in both indoor and outdoor settings. One…
With a web of logistical headaches, ever tightening margins, and all manner of travel-related red tape to cut through, touring in today’s market is as tough as it’s ever been. It’s no surprise then, that the trend nowadays is for artists and bands to stick to the well-trodden touring routes and avoid veering too far into the unknown. However, for James Blunt and his long-serving band and crew, discovering new destinations is all part of the fun of being on tour. “James loves that aspect of touring,” commented Blunt’s long-serving Tour Manager, Robert Hayden. “The desire to play these more…
If a live event is done properly, all the headlines will go to the stars on stage. However, as anyone working in this industry is all too aware, behind every show is a hardworking crew operating quietly and efficiently to ensure that the artists look and sound spectacular, wherever in the world they are. As events get bigger, the logistical management behind them must also grow, with everything from crew travel and training to accreditation and artist liaison requiring constant care and attention, often in the form of painstaking manual updates to endless spreadsheets. This is a headache that Ieva…
Industry veteran and executive producer Soren West has joined TAIT as Executive Vice President, MENA. In this role, West will be a key leader for TAIT focusing on growth across MENA and the Gulf Coast. “I went to TAIT for a job in 1996 and they turned me away,” commented West, winding back the clocks on his long history with the company and the Rock Lititz Community. “I spent the next 22 years working across the street; we grew up together.” In those two decades, West served as CEO of ATOMIC, co-founder of Beame Lighting (which was sold to 4Wall),…
At Unilumin, we continually strive to innovate, bringing cutting-edge visual solutions to our customers across the globe, including the Middle East. Our latest product lines include the XV Transparent Series, the Utile EA Series, and the highly flexible XC & XS Series. These products cater specifically to the region’s growing demand for high-performance, rental-friendly LED displays, boasting impressive visual clarity and adaptability. For indoor applications, our 1.9mm pixel pitch ensures remarkable detail, while the 2.9mm outdoor variant offers stunning outdoor performance, both of which elevate staging and event experiences in the Middle East to new levels of sophistication. Can you…
As much as campaign groups, major companies and industry figureheads are raising awareness and working to address the imbalance between men and women in the live events industry, it’s clear that women are still underrepresented – especially when it comes to technical roles. One person who is devoted to levelling the playing field is Valerie Gard, a TPiMEA Award-winning audio engineer and system technician who has been involved with some of the biggest shows both inside and outside the Middle East, from the likes of Anoushka Shankar, Christian Scott, and London Royal Philharmonic to the main stage at Expo 2020…
While Lebanon has been in the global headlines for all the wrong reasons recently, if there’s one thing that the Lebanese people are famous for, it’s their unrivalled capacity to party at any given opportunity. One such opportunity that was grabbed with both hands by locals and international visitors alike was the Aegis Festival, which saw crowds of music lovers descend on the ancient northern coastal city of Batroun in July for three nights of back-to-back revelry featuring a packed roster of DJs including Agents of Time, Hiroko Yamamura, Seth Troxler, and Frankey & Sandrino. Taking place in the usually…
Latin pop sensation Enrique Iglesias returned to Dubai in September for his debut sold-out concert at the Coca-Cola Arena with local audio solutions from Clair Global UAE and support from touring partner, Sound Image. With 180 million worldwide record sales to his name, Iglesias has a huge live following, and his recent performance in the Middle East was met with palpable excitement. An artist accustomed to high-level touring, the singer’s crew relies on Sound Image, a Clair Global brand, for international audio solutions, and with one-off performances such as this, Clair UAE picked up the rider locally, ensuring environmental goals…
With a rich history of putting together the logistical operations behind the world’s biggest shows dating back to the late 1970s, when it comes to concert touring, Rock-it Cargo has always been at the forefront of the industry. From bringing Billy Joel’s tour into the former Soviet Union to facilitating Metallica becoming the first band to play all seven continents, the company has been the backbone of many a groundbreaking production over the years. Rock-it Cargo is no stranger to the Middle East, having operated in the region for many years, and the company’s presence in the region was strengthened…
Atlantis The Palm has hosted some epic live shows over the years, with the stunning seaside location nestled on the tip of the Crescent and the hotel’s iconic arch providing the perfect backdrop and atmosphere for some of Dubai’s most memorable nights of live music. The latest big name to grace the venue was Martin Garrix, whose show in early May marked the long-awaited return of the Atlantis Live series, returning to the hotel for the first time in a decade. Recalling the origins of the show, Protec’s General Manager Matt Allen, who served as Project Director, explained how the…
Company slogans don’t always align with the values of an organisation or the people behind it, but in the case of DWR Distribution, the company’s motto, ‘It’s all about the people’, resonates from top to bottom. This people-first ethos that values relationships above all else is driven by the company’s founder, Duncan Riley – a man who embodies the slogan in everything he does. TPiMEA got to witness the extraordinary generosity of Riley first hand recently during a trip to Johannesburg, where we were introduced to the great and good of the South African events and entertainment industry, with Riley…
