The Middle East has gained a reputation in recent years as a global leader when it comes to spectacular aerial events, and with Qatar’s recent Lusail Sky Festival, that status was given a further boost. Organised by Visit Qatar, in collaboration with Qatari Diar and held for three days at the start of April to coincide with the Eid al-Fitr weekend, the festival combined an array of aerial performances, including aerobatics, skydiving, skywriting demonstrations, high-speed jet displays, laser shows, and aerial pyrotechnics. Playing a central role in the event was a spectacular daily drone show, created by Lumasky, which featured…
Author: Peter Iantorno
Trivandi has acquired Brisbane-based Cutler Synthesized Projects, a specialist event overlay company with experience across multiple Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups and international sporting events. This strategic move enhances Trivandi’s end-to-end service offering and places the company at the forefront of the rapidly evolving major events industry, where sustainability, legacy and creativity are reshaping how events are delivered around the world. The acquisition marks another milestone in Trivandi’s impressive growth trajectory, following the launch of Trivandi Academy in May 2024, the acquisition of sustainability leader The Bulb in November 2024, and the opening of its APAC office in March 2025.…
Martin Professional Middle East and GESAB are celebrating a decade of partnership – 10 years of innovation, collaboration, and success across the Middle East and the GCC region. Since 2014, GESAB and Martin Professional Middle East, have joined forces to deliver exceptional projects that blend functionality with forward-thinking design. Over the past ten years, their synergy has transformed countless mission-critical environments, spanning control centers, security hubs, energy sectors, and beyond. From the beginning, the partnership was built on a shared vision: to combine world-class engineering with customised, human-centered design. GESAB’s ergonomic consoles and technical furniture paired seamlessly with Martin Professional’s…
The TPiMEA Awards 2025 took place on Thursday April 24, celebrating the achievements of the best and brightest talent in the region’s live events industry. Held for the first time at the new venue of Soho Garden, Palm Jumeirah, this year’s awards saw more than 500 people in attendance. With Headline Sponsor SLS Production taking on the majority of the technical supply, alongside fellow suppliers 3 Monkeys, CasaMilan, and GES, production levels were higher than ever. Among the big winners on the night were Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour, which was crowned Outstanding Event Production of the Year,…
Norwood Productions recently bolstered its audio capabilities with the acquisition of a d&b audiotechnik V-Series PA from the manufacturer’s South Africa distributor, Stage Audio Works. Norwood Productions now owns both V-Series line array systems and V-Series point source loudspeakers, enabling the company to serve the growing number of live events alongside its existing client base within the corporate market. “The point sources are awesome because it gives us the ability to really scale down when we need to work on a small event,” commented Chris Norwood, Founder and Director of Norwood Productions. “With these boxes, you can have them running…
When it comes to heritage, very few companies in the UAE come close to Oasis Enterprises (OE). The company’s history goes all the way back to 1971 and the humble beginnings of its parent group, Al Shirawi Group, which started as a small trading house and today comprises more than 40 companies spanning 18 sectors in the UAE. One of these companies is Oasis Enterprises, a systems integrator that started life in 1982 as the region’s exclusive distributor for consumer and professional electronics brand, JVC, catering to government tenders and public institutions. Recognising the growing demand for professional installation services,…
It’s easy to forget in today’s results-driven world that there’s a lot more to leadership than simply running a commercially successful company. This is an ethos that Niousha Ehsan, co-founder and Chief Energy Officer at LINKVIVA, has embraced from the start. After launching LINKVIVA at just 19 years old, Ehsan made the decision that personal development would be a central element of the company’s growth. “It took me a little while to figure out my ‘why’ in life, but through coaching and my own personal development, I realised that what really excites me is helping people become the best version…
It’s no secret that TAIT has ambitious plans for the Middle East, and if any proof was needed about how serious the company is about the region, industry veteran Soren West’s appointment as MENA Chief Executive at the end of 2024 and subsequent relocation to Riyadh is surely it. With more than 25 years of experience in global concert touring, live performance television, corporate and sporting events, award shows, ceremonies, and brand activations, West has a long history with TAIT as a client, vendor and close collaborator, and the opportunity to bring his knowledge to the Middle East with a…
The relationship between client and supplier is a symbiotic one that requires understanding on both sides to be successful. Having spent the best part of the past 15 years ensconced in the world of mega events before taking on the role of Director of JAM People in September 2024, few are better equipped than Nikki Kerr when it comes to discussing the transition between the two disciplines. From 2012 London Olympic Games to the 2015 European Games in Azerbaijan, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, the Invictus Games Sydney 2018, as well as Expo 2020 and COP28 in Dubai, Australian-born…
There are so many worthy causes nowadays that picking the right one can be a challenge. However, when a team member shows a particular passion for a subject, that’s often a good place to start. This idea certainly applied to Showforce’s recent partnership with Project REEFrame – an initiative dedicated to restoring and preserving coral reef ecosystems in the UAE, which was brought to the company’s attention by International Crew Manager and eco-enthusiast, Ricky Holland. “I have been diving in Fujairah for the past 10 years and really hold it as a special place,” Holland began, explaining how he found…
South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world, with stark disparities in employment and economic opportunity. According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, more than a third of the population struggles with unemployment and poverty, while the top 12% earn nearly half of the national income. In this challenging environment, the live events industry faces unique pressures, including the need for skilled professionals who can meet international technical and safety standards. The live events industry has traditionally been a hands-on learning environment, where experience often outweighs formal qualifications. This is particularly true in South…
“The brief sounded so simple in the initial meetings,” began Sarah Kent, Co-founder of boutique creative agency, Kent Gray, recalling a series of Squid Game ‘takeovers’ throughout Saudi Arabia, to promote the second series of the wildly popular Netflix programme. Under the creative direction of Dubai-based agency Science & Sunshine, the stunt was part of a global campaign of similar takeovers in other cities, and featured 20 of the show’s distinctive Pink Guards at seven high-profile locations throughout the Kingdom. “From their dramatic arrival at Jeddah airport, to their extensive tour across Saudi Arabia, every move was documented by multiple…
