Registration is now open for event professionals involved in crowd safety at venues, major music and sporting events to attend these courses and gain an accredited Showstop Manager qualification. ESM is bringing the Showstop Procedure course to the Middle East region, continuing the company’s pioneering approach to support major event organisers with training and operational excellence in specialist crowd safety services. “We are always open to improving our safety protocols where possible,” commented ESM Managing Director, Steven Coleman. “The introduction of this new course and qualification in such an important role gives venues and event professionals an invaluable tool for…
Author: Peter Iantorno
Back in late 2024, TPiMEA reported on Gallowglass Group’s ambitious new training initiative, aiming to revolutionise the future Saudi Arabian workforce [TPiMEA #51]. The company is now taking its involvement in the Kingdom to the next level, with the formal launch of Gallowglass KSA, headed up by General Manager for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turki Alahmadi. “We believe that this is the right time for Gallowglass to have a presence in KSA as the industry is growing and accelerating at speed here,” Alahmadi began, explaining the rationale behind the expansion. “We are happy and excited to contribute to Saudi…
Where does the PT-REQ15 sit within the Panasonic’s projector offerings? With its powerful 15,000-lumen output, the PT-REQ15 delivers the highest brightness in the REQ Series – a clear step up from the REQ12, REQ10, and REQ80, all while maintaining the same compact and lightweight design that makes the entire range so versatile and easy to install. It’s built for impact, whether you’re lighting up an auditorium, staging a theatrical show, creating an immersive exhibit, or powering a live event. The REQ15 delivers crisp 4K resolution (with Quad Pixel Drive on), fully sealed optics, and rock-solid durability. It’s made to handle…
Sometimes the best answers are the most obvious ones, and when it came to the creative for the latest festival offering from MDLBEAST, A Thousand and One, this was most certainly the case. As the festival’s creative team assembled in the project’s early ideation stage, they pondered potential themes for a brand-new festival. “The answer was right in our faces,” recalled MDLBEAST Chief Creative Officer, Ahmad ‘Baloo’ Alammary. “The stories from 1001 Nights are our fairy tales, our own folklore, and they are the perfect fantasy to build a homegrown Saudi festival around.” Speaking to TPiMEA from Ibiza – where…
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are hardly rare in the world of live events, but when The Walt Disney Company is involved, the need for confidentiality invariably reaches ‘a whole new world’ of importance. This was precisely the situation that HQ Worldwide Shows (HQWS) was faced with ahead of the launch of Disney Abu Dhabi. While still onsite at another high-profile event – the teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi Inauguration Ceremony [TPiMEA #54] – HQWS senior leadership was called into a high-level briefing with Miral officials to discuss what would become one of the most significant cultural developments in the history of the…
Significant success in a particular field is often a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s valuable to be considered a leader and a go-to provider for certain categories of events, but on the other, it’s easy to get pigeonholed as a company that can only deliver projects within its niche. Having built a strong reputation for its delivery on a range of high-profile motorsport events, creative production agency 555 Live Experience was on the lookout for a statement project outside of motorsport, and in the King’s Cup Final 2025, the company found the perfect platform to demonstrate its extensive capabilities.…
There are many reasons why a person might get into live audio – from being a music buff wanting to rub shoulders with the stars up on stage to being a technical mastermind in pursuit of sonic perfection. However, for Eddie Mulrainey, his journey into the industry was all about discovering how live music can affect people in a positive way. “As soon as I got my first taste of working in live music and saw the incredible effect it can have on people, I was desperate to be a part of that world,” he told TPiMEA, recalling his early…
The first time TPiMEA met Amy Morris, the Pop Up Global Managing Director was fresh off the boat, having taken her successful UK-based company and expanded into the UAE. Back then, Morris talked about the importance of being selective and waiting for the right opportunities, and now two years on, her belief in that ethos is stronger than ever. “Saying ‘no’ to requests has been crucial in our development,” she reflected. “It’s resulted in Pop Up Global now being known for working on only the best projects. We’re now getting RFPs for projects that we would never have been considered…
Evolved from a Madrid social club back in 1870, Elrow has developed into a global force on the entertainment and festival scene, with offshoots in Ibiza, London, Las Vegas, Amsterdam and, of course, Dubai. With Elrow XXL Dubai now entering its fourth year, the event has become a firm favourite among Dubai’s party crowd, known for its maximalist aesthetic and celebratory vibe. Someone who has played a key role in bringing Elrow to Dubai is Shiraz ‘Baz’ Baziko, who has been Festival Director for the previous three editions and continues to oversee Elrow’s regional activities through his company, Dubai Dance…
Going into a project in any venue, the starting point is always acquiring an accurate set of drawings to establish the parameters within which the production must fit. However, in some of the more obscure or underutilised venues throughout the GCC, it’s often the case that these drawings either do not exist, are inaccurate, or are lacking in the level of detail required to plan a large-scale production. This is exactly the issue that Previs Production aims to overcome. “From our decades of experience, we know that there’s often a lack of meaningful information about event venues, both in terms…
Since the mid-1990s – a time when Colour Sound Experiment first had touring clients and freelancers working across the US – the rental outfit has been open about a desire to expand internationally. With no outside investors to answer to, the latest milestone in the company’s rapid expansion is Jeddah. The journey from fledgling rental house to major name on the global stage has been marked by pivotal decisions and bold investments. One of the earliest watershed moments came in 1990, with the company’s first move into intelligent lighting. This was followed by the addition of LED screens in 2009.…
In the world of live events, creating memorable experiences hinges on the blend of technical expertise and creative design. Sets Drapes Screens (SDS), the set-building subsidiary of Gearhouse South Africa, aims to be at the forefront of this fusion, delivering tailored set solutions that bring events to life across the continent. SDS began with a late-night conversation between Gearhouse South Africa’s Directors and then-Project Manager, Pieter Joubert, about a gap in the market. While local companies focused on exhibition sets, few addressed the scale and complexity of live events. Their vision: a Gearhouse-affiliated service, led by Joubert, to better serve…
