Building A Circuit: How The Middle East Is Becoming a Full-Fledged Touring Region

Pollstar spoke with a swath of major players from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, in order to shine a light on a region known for its spectacular natural beauty, enchanting culture and world-renowned hospitality. One of them is James Craven, President Middle East at Live Nation, which first opened its office in Dubai in 2009, and has since expanded to several markets, led by teams, who have lived and worked in the region for many years. Some of them work on Live Nation’s UK festivals over the summer, which is a very quiet period in the Middle East due to the high temperatures. The majority of shows and festivals therefore take place during the winter months. While it’s a pleasant experience for international artists and their teams to see familiar faces in the middle of the desert, when visiting the Middle East after the summer in Europe, UK and US, one of Live Nation’s regional priorities is “to train and develop young nationals so we can encourage more to enter the industry and ensure our businesses are reflective of the populations they operate in,” Craven explains.

In the summer of 2019, Live Nation Middle East ran a six-week program in both Europe and the Middle East for a group of young graduates who got to experience shows and festival operations in both regions. “We then engaged the majority of them for six months with hands-on experience at live events. Three of these young people are now employees of LNME. In 2022, we will re-commence this training program for a larger number of young people,” Craven says.

Fostering local live entertainment professionals will be vital in order to fill the various positions that are bound to open up in the coming years as new venues are being built all across the region, facilitating a full-fledged domestic and international touring industry. Craven remembers, “When I first arrived in the Middle East over 10 years ago, there were virtually no purpose-built venues. This has changed significantly with purpose-built arenas in both the UAE and Qatar and new projects under development, or close to completion, in Kuwait and several other markets. More important is the rapid expansion of live entertainment in the region. From being a quick fly-in fly-out market, we are finally getting to a place where we can build an entire tour within the wider region – this is a huge step forward and we will see regional tours with as many as 10 show dates commencing as soon as Q4 2021.”

Live Nation Middle East had its biggest year in history in 2019, before coronavirus brought the world to a standstill, so the company expects more shows and artists coming through the region than ever before once things open back up. “The region is really embracing live entertainment so it’s a very exciting time to be working here,” says Craven.

Zaed Maqbool, Live Nation’s VP Talent for Middle East/South Asia, adds, “As more and more regional markets open-up to international touring, agents see the value in building a circuit as opposed to a bonus one-off. The idea is to develop the market so that fans are buying tickets consistently as opposed to once a year for a massive show. It is for this reason that we are also working on developing smaller shows where younger artists that are getting traction are able to perform in clubs. With the rise of social media, the incubation period in which they move from clubs to arenas has shortened drastically, so we want to develop that fan loyalty throughout the build cycle, from clubs to theatres to arenas, to stadiums.”

Another major promoter in the region is Dubai-based Done Events, which is led by Managing Director Girish Bhat. With a footprint of a decade-and-a-half in the UAE, Done Events has developed a deep understanding of the business, market and consumers, making it “the perfect partner for events across scale and genre,” according to Bhat. Done Events worked hard alongside authorities, suppliers, and stakeholders including HSE and COVID-compliance experts, to make events happen during the coronavirus crisis. The team spent months outlining strategies and procedures in conjunction with the authorities, and successfully managed to stage a month-long activation at various venues in Dubai, including Jimmy Carr, Stronger Together Campaign, Kiss 2020 Goodbye NYE Concert, Khawaneej Enchanted Garden, to name a few. The general stance shared by all the live entertainment professionals in the region, is not to open things up too quickly. Bhat explains, “There is no rush to fill up venues; instead, we are taking calculated steps towards introducing events with smaller capacities. The increase in capacity will be in direct correlation to the increase in vaccinations, and the confidence in its efficacy across the country. The most important objective currently is to do our part and help instill confidence in the consumer. Our first show’s capacity was 1,400 only for Jimmy Carr. Our target is 5000-plus for upcoming concerts in summer.”

An increase in capacity is also what venue operators are hoping for. “It’s hard to be commercially viable and socially distant at the same time,” Guy Ngata, the departing CEO of Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai tells Pollstar. The venue, like all in ASM Global’s portfolio, has been operating under the VenueShield program, focused on hygiene and preventative measures to mintage the coronavirus impact. Ngata is “very encouraged by the vaccine program rollout in the UAE which has been world leading. This alongside the state of current restrictions provides confidence that the coming months ahead will witness greater opportunities for the live industry here in Dubai.” 

Coca-Cola Arena opened in the summer of 2019, and immediately attracted some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Maroon 5, The 1975, Westlife, John Legend, Maluma and more. It’s a state-of-the-art building that offers international promoters all the specs they’ve come to expect. “The RGBW house lighting and permanent sports lighting systems are one of the first of their kind in the world, allowing for full color change and patterns that can be utilized for all events. Our permanent in-house PA JBL Professional Line Array system provides clients with a quality audio system that supplies ample audio coverage for sporting events and end-stage concerts. A key factor in Coca-Cola Arena’s ability to host a diverse selection of acts and performers is its 3,870 square-meters of floor space, huge choice of stage configurations and a multipurpose drape reduction system that can scale the venue as required depending on the event and audience capacity. We can scale from 3,000 up to 17,000 capacity,” Ngata explains.

But it’s not just about attracting international superstars. “Catering for the region and supporting the local market is at the very top of our mindset,” Ngata continues, “The platform is now established to provide world-class entertainment across the many cultures and audiences, and we are excited about what lies ahead, and the role Coca-Cola Arena will play post pandemic.”

Dubai is the most developed live events market in the UAE, but Abu Dhabi is very close on its heels. The main curator of experiences and developer of various leisure and entertainment projects in the city is a company called Miral. One of the key destinations in Abu Dhabi for all things entertainment is Yas Island, where Miral recently completed the development of the brand-new Etihad Arena.

Miral works closely with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism to promote Yas Island as a global leisure and entertainment destination, as well as the Abu Dhabi Sports Council to bring internationally renowned sporting events to the capital. To realize events across all entertainment genres Miral collaborates deeply with Flash Entertainment, promoter of international events and operators of Etihad Arena. 

The opening of Yas Bay Island is Miral’s current focus. Leon Marsh, Miral’s Associate Director – Events, Marketing and Destination Strategy Department, tells Pollstar, “We are currently in talks with a number of partners to ensure Yas Bay offers a full events calendar to support the recovery of the tourism and entertainment sector. First up will be Michael McIntyre’s show on July 16.” More events are lined up, including the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi, Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as well as UFC and the FINA World Swimming Championships. 

Says Marsh, “the region [is] becoming increasingly active on the entertainment front, especially with regards to more proactive planning with longer lead times, allowing regional and international tours to book their events in. More collaboration across the markets will also help to ensure the region is more financially viable and reduce the overall touring costs. We are now sponsoring events as far out as 2023, which is significant progress for the destination.”