Beginning his career in 2008 with a regional equipment rental business as a supervisor, Stephen Lynch has navigated his fair share of challenging and hectic days in the industry, gaining invaluable insights into how events are orchestrated, not just from an equipment standpoint but also from operational and production perspectives. From 2013 to 2023, he worked with FLOW in the UAE as a Senior Account Manager, before freelancing on high-profile projects such as FIFA World Cup Qatar and Rugby World Cup in France, before being offered the position of Head of Commercial with FLOW KSA. “Knowing this role didn’t exist…
Author: Peter Iantorno
Consider this: every single piece of plastic ever made still exists today. In fact, each of us is likely ingesting a credit card’s worth of plastic each week, because plastic pollution is everywhere – in our water, our soil, our air, and our food. The facts are stark. We are awash in plastic – 8 million tonnes enter our oceans each year; only 9% of plastic is recycled, and most is downcycled into products of lesser quality that are less likely to be recycled again. Recycling is still important, as it reduces plastic pollution and reminds us all to consider…
What do event staffing and recruitment agencies do? Well, aside from the obvious in finding freelancers for projects, the role of a staffing agency is to add value to the entire recruitment process. According to JAM Event Services’ Managing Director James Mistry, this is something the staffing arm of his company, JAM People, does in a variety of ways. “The whole process is based around collaboration between a staffing agency, event freelancer and the end client. It’s about all three parties working together towards the end goal of a solid project delivery,” he began. “As far as we’re concerned, it’s…
At the start of the creative process for any tour, the early conversations between show designer and band are critical. So, when Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr briefed Lighting Designer and Lead Creative Mark Wynn-Edwards ahead of the band’s Global Tour 2024, it’s safe to say that the LD was pleased with the room for creativity that he was afforded. “Jim’s main criteria was that the show needed to look massive – the show was going into some big spaces, and we needed to fill every inch,” he smiled. “That was handy because it happens to match by ethos perfectly.…
Taking place on 9 March, just before Ramadan got underway, the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix saw hordes of excited racing fans descend on Jeddah Corniche Circuit to witness Champion Max Verstappen continue his title defence with another dominant victory, before filtering down the road to the nearby purpose-built concert site and partying the night away. Earlier in the day before the race got underway, TPiMEA was on site at the concert venue to catch up with some of the key players behind the production, with MDLBEAST’s Production Director Andy Head generously sparing a few minutes from his busy…
On 10 April, award-winning Egyptian singer, composer and actor Amr Diab took to the stage at El Gouna’s Cubix venue to kick off Eid celebrations in style. Tasked by event organiser Venture Lifestyle with creating an ambitious production that lived up to the star’s energetic performance, Hilights Group pulled out all the stops. “The primary objective of the stage setup was to create an immersive and visually captivating environment that seamlessly complemented Amr Diab’s performance,” commented Hamed Arafa, Founder and Chairman of Hilights Group, giving his insight into the spectacle. “Our role encompassed the meticulous implementation of the provided design,…
This April saw a spectacle of unity and sport and the strengthening of relationships between Qatar and the UAE with not one but two football matches, played out between four of the leading clubs from both nations. On 12 April, Qatar’s Amir Cup champions, Al Arabi, faced off against the UAE’s President’s Cup winners, Sharjah, for the Qatar-UAE Super Cup in Doha. The excitement didn’t end there, as the following day the UAE-Qatar Super Shield saw 2023 ADNOC Pro League champions, Shabab Al Ahli, go head-to-head with 2023 Qatar Stars League winners, Al Duhail, in Dubai. As the official organising…
Returning for its 13th year, Sharjah Light Festival showcases the history, heritage and architecture of the eponymous emirate, inviting internationally renowned artists to celebrate the city’s built and natural environment. For the 2024 event, Dubai-based video-mapping specialist Artabesk once again enlisted its extensive Digital Projection inventory, including to create its signature visual experiences – including a 300m by 50m projection on the side of a mountain beside Al Rafisah Dam. Entitled The Jewel of Al Rafisah Dam, the 3D projection mapping show was inspired by the ‘Golden Age of Sharjah’, focusing on the ancient history of the city of Khorfakkan…
The UAE has never been a country to shy away from the grand and spectacular, so when Abu Dhabi International Airport was renamed Zayed International Airport, the occasion was always going to attract some fanfare. Tasked with creating an entertainment production to mark the launch on both a local and international scale, People produced a spectacular, technically challenging filmed showcase that featured a swarm of 1,750 drones, which formed a three-dimensional A380 aeroplane that ‘landed on the airport’s north runway. “Emphasising aviation excellence and engaging with a largely aviation-focused audience while launching the new airport name impactfully were our key…
What do you do when you want to host a concert, but you can’t quite find the perfect space with the right facilities for it? For most companies, the solution would be to compromise somewhere – perhaps with a lower capacity or smaller production values. However, for MDLBEAST, an organisation that has always danced to the beat of its own drum – the word ‘compromise’ is not part of the vocabulary. “We looked around some beautiful venues but nothing in Jeddah was equipped for the calibre of show we wanted, so we thought why not create our own arena that…
The UAE has made no secret of its desire to push the envelope with its approach to emerging technology, and the country further bolstered its credentials in the field recently with an all-new extreme racing series that saw eight AI-powered cars race around Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit, roared on by a crowd of more than 10,000 in person and 600,000 online. Conceived by ASPIRE – part of the UAE’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) – and brought together by the tireless efforts of engineers, scientists, and programmers, the inaugural Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) saw teams from educational…
While it became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic that nothing can truly replicate the buzz of live, in-person experiences, the success and subsequent proliferation of livestreamed music events that occurred during the period proved that there remains a place for these types of productions even now the live events industry is thankfully back up to full strength. One artist who fully embraced the format is David Guetta, with the DJ producing several special sets that were premiered on YouTube, performing from spectacular settings such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the helipad on Dubai’s Burj Al Arab. “Of course, we…
