Dubai sets big stage for audio visual business

The Middle East’s booming US$2 billion a year audio visual business has been promised a super show in Dubai later this month, when industry professionals from across the region gather to examine and debate the latest technology and creative ideas from around the world.

Now in its ninth year, PALME Middle East, taking place from 26-28 April at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, is attracting 200 exhibitors and more than 6,500 visitors from 68 countries as the industry looks towards major growth over the next few years.

The region’s only trade event of its kind turns a big industry spotlight on professional lighting, audio, music, entertainment, audio visual and systems integration solutions, including the latest laser and multimedia wizardry from German manufacturer Lobo whose work has tantalised audiences of millions.

LOBO is using PALME Middle East as a platform to launch its new ‘sparks’ and ‘bliss’ laser systems which generate stunning effects at very low energy consumption and were used to create a multimedia 3D laser spectacle for one of the world’s leading theme parks.

The spectacular show, ‘Castillo Mystico’, which attracted huge crowds to Europa Park in Rust, Germany, will be reproduced every 30 minutes from the company’s 200 sq metre exhibition area using several laser systems and a five metre water screen. Lobo is aiming to impress a big assembly of buyers at the event, which last year attracted more than 6,100 key decision makers, industry professionals and technical experts.

PALME Middle East is the centerpiece of a five cornered industry showcase growing in significance in line with the expansion of the regional audio visual industry. “This is now well established as a major event which has a key position in the global trade show circuit and provides the Middle East with its own unique industry forum,” said Eben Botha, Exhibition Manager, PALME Middle East.

Lobo President Lothar Bopp said: “The Middle East has always been a primary market for LOBO, and over the years PALME has provided the ideal platform for us to grow our business and display the latest in our company developments.”

“We expect keen interest in the latest editions of the ‘sparks’ and ‘bliss’ laser series which produce extremely bright and spectacular projections even at less than 1 kW of energy consumption.”

LOBO, which has earned more than 100 awards from the International Laser Display Association, delivers laser shows and multimedia technology entertainment for millions of spectators at events worldwide. Over 28 days, an estimated two million people witnessed its spectacular laser show during the recent Muscat Festival in Oman.

Kuwait-based visual multi media and entertainment provider, Gemini Worldwide LLC, is using PALME Middle East to launch its latest 360° inflatable projection dome, the largest of its kind. Almost as big as a football pitch and 20 metres high, the Superdome can host as many as 4000 people.

The event is co-located with INSTALL Middle East, an exhibition dedicated to professional AV, systems integration, smart home technologies, lighting solutions, digital signage, audio-video installations and rental services. This is a growing market, currently worth US$4 billion annually with a projected rise to $6 billion within the GCC region over the next five years.

Also running alongside PALME Middle East is MUSAC, a regional forum attracting leading manufacturers and regional distributors of musical instruments and accessories.

At the three-day PALME conference, international experts will examine the future of the lighting and integration solutions industry, spotlight the latest technical advances in projection technology, and for the first time explore technological solutions for the building and construction industry.

The event line-up in Dubai is completed by the PALME Middle East Awards, the region’s most prestigious awards ceremony for audio visual, audio technology and lighting design.