# Middle East Special Event & Exhibition Show

The Middle East Special Event Show (MEES) & Awards, is an annual exhibition held in Dubai UAE for Meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions (MICE), events and entertainment industry. Launched in 2011 the show provides the regional events industry with a platform to promote their products and services event managers, marketers and other relevant personnel. Previous events, Festivale and Event360, identified a need in the region for an exhibition that covered the whole of the local events industry, and so these were amalgamated to be one event in the Middle East Event Show. In 2018 the event will be re-branded to The Middle East Special Event & Exhibition Show, to be organised under the wings of The Special Event show in the USA.
In 2019 it was finally renamed to The Middle East Event Show (MEES) and takes place at the Madinat Jumeirah Resort. The exhibition is organised by Informa Connect Middle East.
Alongside the exhibition, the Middle East Special Event & Exhibition Show runs a series of educational workshops and seminars, which are free to attend. There MEES Awards night is a gala evening honouring and celebrating the best in the events industry.

## Awards evening

The Middle East Special Event & Exhibition Awards evening is held annually alongside the show and aims to recognise and reward excellence within the industry. In 2017 the award categories & winners were as follows:
| Award | Winner |
| Best Trade Exhibition Under 10,000sqm Gross | Windows, Doors & Facades 2017 - dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa |
| Best Trade Exhibition Over 10,000sqm Gross | The Big 5 Dubai 2016 - dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa |
| Best Consumer Exhibition Under 10,000sqm Gross | Dubai Muscle Show 2016 - HBG Events |
| Best Consumer Exhibition Over 10,000sqm Gross | Middle East Film and Comic Con 2016 - The Alliance |
| Best Sporting Event | 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit |
| Best Music Event | RedFest DXB - Done Events |
| Best Arts, Culture & Entertainment Event | Meet d3 - Done Events |
| Best Meeting/Conference | Arab Media Forum - Done Events |
| Best Event on a Budget | Ferrari GTC4LUSSO Launch Event - The Onlooker |
| Best Video Content Production | Federal National Council 44th Anniversary – mamemo |
| Best Entertainment Production | Opening Ceremony of the Dubai Water Canal – Prodea |
| Best Light & Sound Production | RedFest DXB - eclipse Staging Services |
| Best Event Video Solution | Dubai Canal Opening Ceremony – Protec |
| Best Use of Technology – Product | Robotics – Protec |
| Best Use of Technology - Service / Software | Omega Dubai Desert Classic – InitLive |
| Best Venue | Warehouse @ The Fridge |
| Best Temp Venue or Structure | IDEX 2017 Opening Ceremony – Protec |
| Stand Design & Build Supplier of the Year | Emaar - Cityscape Global 2016 by Ochre |
| Best Supplier of the Year | Harlequin Arena |
| Sustainability Award | Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company |
| Best Event Marketing Campaign of the Year | Yasalam 2016 - FLASH Entertainment |
| Outstanding Brand Activation Event | Sheraton Delight My Journey – Sweetwater |
| Best Employer of the Year | LINKVIVA |
| Young Achiever of the Year | Tom Clements - Maestra Group |
| Industry Icon Of The Year | Pach Ang - RedFilo Events |