EventNewsDXB

"The forecast is zero." That's the blunt reality Jon Noonan shares as we talk about what happens to the events industry when geopolitics, travel advisories and confidence collide. 

In this week's episode of EventNewsDXB, -45dB Founder and Managing Director, Jon Noonan, and host Ian Carless, unpack the gap between perception and reality, and why government guidance and travel insurance create a standstill no supplier or organiser can solve alone. 

But it's not all doom and gloom as Jon shares a genuine watershed moment with the signing of an exclusive contract between -45dB and DWTC - proof, he argues, that you simply can't do business in this region by flying in and out. 

Recording in one of their sound reduced structures at Dubai World Trade Centre, featuring a bespoke podcast studio, Jon explains the long road behind a major partnership and what it took to earn trust in the GCC. We also take a peak behind the scenes on running two substantial operations across the Middle East and UK, Thorns Group momentum, plus a hiring mindset shift from pure performance to culture. 

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

The scariest part of a crisis isn’t the headlines, it’s when the phone stops ringing.

In this special episode, we look at how the Iran–US conflict is affecting the UAE and wider MENA events industry, cutting through the noise to focus on what professionals are actually experiencing day to day. Host Ian Carless is joined by Mark Benaicha, Managing Director at Esmos Recruitment, to unpack new data on market sentiment.

From shifting timelines and cautious decision-making to the knock-on effects across the supply chain, we look at how different parts of the industry are responding and what that means for the months ahead.

If you work in events, conferences, exhibitions, experiential marketing, venues, AV or production, this episode offers a clear, honest view of what’s happening beneath the surface and the questions every business should be asking right now.

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

There’s a moment in every event where everything hangs in the balance. Because for all the talk about creativity and production, what we really do in this industry is manage complexity. At scale. Under pressure. And with people.

This week's guest on EventNewsDXB is Vicki Burn, who's has spent over two decades delivering large-scale events and festivals and balancing everything that comes with it. 

Vicki is Event Director with MENA Live Events and the person leading the team that brought us Taste of Dubai and Taste of Abu Dhabi. Together, we talk about creative vision versus commercial realities, rising costs and sponsorship pressures and audiences that expect more than ever. 

We also discuss how the industry has evolved, particularly post-Expo, plus what leadership really looks like on the ground, and why burnout and wellbeing are finally becoming part of the conversation. Because lets face it, behind every successful event… there’s a team holding it together.

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

When two industry veterans with 25 years in the game sit down and start swapping war stories about “making it gold at 2am”, you know you’re onto a winner! 

In this episode of EventNewsDXB, host Ian Carless, is joined by Jo Webber and Sally Kay from This is Spiro and this is a conversation that cuts right to the heart of delivering events in Dubai and the MENA region. From impossible timelines and last-minute client curveballs to the growing role of data and what they call “experiential intelligence”, this is a deep dive into how the industry is evolving  and where it still needs to catch up.

We get into the shift from creativity-first to strategy-led thinking, why measurement is finally becoming non-negotiable, and how some brands are still getting experiential wrong by repeating the same tired old formats.

But at its core, this episode is about what actually drives impact. Not just what looks good, but what builds trust, changes behaviour, and delivers real return beyond the event itself.

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

How do you build a global-level experiential agency from a garage in Dubai?

In this episode we speak with Anam Ahmad,  Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Hanging House, an award-winning experiential marketing agency transforming how brands connect with audiences through immersive storytelling, technology and audience engagement.

From dropping out of school and working odd jobs to launching a startup in her garage and now cementing her place on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Anam shares her journey of building an award-winning agency focused on immersive brand storytelling and audience engagement. 

We discuss the realities behind agency growth, educating clients about experiential marketing, balancing big creative ideas with real budgets, navigating procurement-driven briefs and leading a rapidly expanding team.

The conversation also explores leadership, imposter syndrome, and why experiential marketing is becoming one of the most powerful ways for brands to connect with audiences today. 

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

When a teenage musician in Beirut realised he loved organising the gig as much as playing it, that spark eventually became eventlab, one of the region’s leading event recruitment businesses.

In this week’s episode of EventNewsDXB, eventlab co-founder, Nadim Jamal shares how freelancing turned into entrepreneurship, how Expo and ‘Riyadh season’ accelerated growth and why trust, systems and pacing, not hype, are what actually build sustainable event companies.

He talks honestly about the pressures facing our industry right now: shrinking budgets, rising living costs, late payments and the reality of being stuck between client expectations and freelancer welfare. Nadim also makes a compelling case for one simple industry fix... pay on time! 

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

When a 16-year-old’s passion for performing arts snowballs into an award from the Queen, you know the story’s going to be good!

In the final episode of Season 2 of EventNewsDXB, Zoe Jackson MBE talks to us about how she took her teenage passion and turned it into a performing arts company and charity that inspired thousands of young people and led to numerous prestigious awards.

In 2020 she left the UK for Dubai and has since gone on to form of the region’s most respected entertainment production companies, Entertain X. She shares the lessons she's learned along the way, why saying no to procurement races protects creativity, how Expo’s legacy reshaped her business and why Saudi’s cultural boom is redefining what’s possible for live experiences.

Zoe also opens up about her event journey and how to manage through growth, evolving from hands-on creative to systems-builder, managing cash flow in slow-pay markets and finding balance when passion risks becoming burnout. 

If you're in the business of entertainment in the Middle East, this episode is for you.

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

How many times have we sat in a bar and magically come up the next 'big idea', only for it to avaporate along with the last drop of vino in your glass! 

In this week's EventNewsDXB, we sit down with Adam Parry, Co-Founder of Event Industry News and Event Tech Live about ignoring all the 'nay-sayers' and turning that 'big idea' into not just one, but two profitable businesses. 

Adam unpacks some of the key moments along his journey - why awards became more than trophies but a true community hub and how a daytime conference unlocked sponsorships that ultimatelty made his P/L work! 

We also explore what innovation really means in events, why tech is only as good as the problems it solves. And he shares the thinking behind Speaker Stacks, a new tool built to bridge content and contacts without spamming audiences.

Plus, having made the move from the UK to Dubai, Adam shares his perspective on how two very different markets operate and talks candidly about the culture shift, from the UK’s mature but sometimes rigid industry to the Middle East’s speed, ambition, and appetite for scale.

If you're looking for an engaging conversation with one of the event industry's most influential voices, hit that play button! 

EventNewsDXB is supported by -45dB and Warehouse Four. 

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

When Tammy Urwin swapped dreams of the auctioneer’s gavel for a Lapland winter as Santa’s assistant, little did she realise it would be great training for her future career in the event industry!

In this weeks episode of EventNewsDXB, Urban Events director Tammy Urwin, joins me to unpack how she wound up doing “experiential” before it had a name and how she designs her events for emotion and memory over format. We also talk zero-waste festivals, like Corona Sunsets, which saw 30,000 people attend over three days, with nothing going to landfill and why sustainability has to be in the brief throughout, not a line at the end. 

She also talks candidly about saying no to procurement driven briefs and keeping her event agency intentionally small. And we dig into AI’s real utility  - speed, not strategy; plus why hiring for attitude wins and how she's building a pipeline of female talent in a male-dominated industry. 

If you care about creating moments that outlast the event, this conversation is a good place to start. 

EventNewsDXB is supported by Warehouse Four and -45dB

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.

When Adam Griffiths packed a bag and followed his brother to Dubai he didn’t plan on founding an event agency. However, fatherhood and a hard look at what “trust” means in this market, pushed him to launch Enigma, built on a simple promise: do what you say you’ll do.

In this week’s episode of EventNewsDXB, Adam draws a clear line between live events and experiential and why the win isn’t footfall, it’s connection. He shares how his team designs for engagement and dwell, not just more screens and why success lives in the conversation that happens after. We also dig into a standout case from Jeddah’s Red Sea Film Festival with Netflix - a multi-zone fan experience adapted thoughtfully for local culture.

Adam also talks candidly about building fast without losing the plot: hiring for attitude, keeping the team intentionally lean, qualifying briefs and saying no to race-to-the-bottom procurement. 

It’s an honest, practical playbook for event pros in the region: how to protect creativity on tight budgets, use data with purpose and build the kind of trust you can look for in a client.

EventNewsDXB is supported by Warehouse Four and -45dB

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Manny Penamora
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & Poddworx Dubai

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider sponsoring the podcast to enable us to keep them coming. Contact us for details.