A “mega events fund” has been announced by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) to enhance the city’s portfolio of leisure and business events and to attract global event organisers.

The 600-million-dirham ($163.4 million) fund is part of the Ghadan 21 programme, which seeks to accelerate Abu Dhabi’s economy and make it a preferred world destination for people to do business, invest, live, work and visit.

The new financial stimulus will focus exclusively on the development of major entertainment and business activities and festivals in the emirate, a statement from DCT Abu Dhabi said.

The new initiative is expected to give the UAE’s capital a new strategic momentum to enhance its local and regional presence. “This initiative will work to attract the best entertainment and business event organisers from across the world to consider Abu Dhabi as a place to invest their time and effort,” said Saif Saeed Ghobash, an undersecretary at DCT Abu Dhabi.

The statement also said that the new fund will provide multi-purpose financing that will involve encouraging potential global entertainment partners to anchor leading entertainment content in Abu Dhabi, helping to upscale and renovate existing events in the UAE, encouraging global entertainment companies and event owners from the region to consider Abu Dhabi as their go-to location to stage events, and supporting innovation in the event and thought-leadership sectors.

DCT Abu Dhabi has already identified many potential partners for the new fund, including global companies, promoters and touring companies.

Partners including Miral, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Live Nation International, Informa Middle East, Flash Entertainment, IMG International, Messe Frankfurt Exhibitions and Conferences, Yas Marina Circuit, and other event promotors have expressed interest in partnering with the fund, the statement said.

In 2018, Abu Dhabi’s events calendar helped achieve a new record in terms of the number of visitors and hotel guests coming to the emirate, with more than 10 million international visitors arriving in Abu Dhabi and a 3.94 percent increase reported in the number of hotel guests compared to 2017.

(Reporting by Seban Scaria, editing by Daniel Luiz)

(seban.scaria@refinitiv.com)

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