Features
Live Entertainment’s Golden Shores: (Annual Middle East Focus 2024)
Every year, Pollstar takes a look at the state of play in the Middle East, and each year, the professionals working in the region known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) grow their business. It’s incredible, how far this history-steeped part of the world has come in a relatively short time. What the UAE had begun in 2010 – opening up to the world politically, economically, and socially as part of its Vision 2021 – is now happening all over the region, with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Kuwait all in the middle of implementing their own “Vision” programs.
The rise of Riyadh-based MDLBeast since its launch in 2019, with its flagship event Soundstorm counting more than 750,000 people across three days; the first edition of Wireless Festival in Abu Dhabi in March 2023 at a sold-out capacity of 25,000, promoted by Live Nation; more recently, the launch of Nordic live entertainment giant All Things Live in the Middle East, appointing veteran promoter Thomas Ovesen as CEO; and the partnership between OVG (Pollstar’s parent company) and Ethara, operator of Etihad Arena, Etihad Park, Yas Marina Circuit, and Yas Conference Centre, a “natural step for OVG to take,” according to OVG CEO Tim Leiweke, given the regions, seeing that “the Middle East is home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies and live entertainment markets.”
Green Day are making their first trip to the Middle East in January 2025, performing in a tailor-made 30,000-capacity outdoor venue at Dubai’s Expo City. Promoter Ovesen said, “fan response has been phenomenal.” That same month, All Thing Live is bringing Ludovico Einaudi to Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena for his first-ever Middle East concert. “This event reinforces our commitment to delivering world-class entertainment to the region and contributing to the vibrant cultural landscape of the Middle East,” said Ovesen, and, as the stories below prove, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Middle East Focus 2024: Features
‘We Listen To Guests & Artists Alike’: How Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena Remains Ahead Of The Game
There are many aspects that make Dubai truly unique, but if you’re in the business of selling tickets, one sticks out: the diversity of its population. More than 200 nationalities call the Emirate of Dubai home. They represent a wide range of musical and cultural tastes that need to be taken into account by anybody curating an entertainment program.
Live Nation Middle East delivered the biggest regional tour to date, when the Backstreet Boys performed a total of 12 concerts in May 2023, across Egypt, India, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and South Africa. Pollstar reached out to James Craven, president, Live Nation Middle East, to talk shop.
Boomin Business In Bahrain: Al Dana Amphitheatre Is Growing By Leaps & Bounds
The reason some of the world’s biggest artists are adding the Kingdom of Bahrain to their itineraries, can be summed up in three words: Al Dana Amphitheatre.
