Licensable activity
Events & exhibitions
Conference and exhibition organisation, event management, production services, and the staging and technical trades attached to them.
Classification
How it is coded.
UAE activity lists derive from ISIC Revision 4, the United Nations industrial classification. Each emirate's economic department and each free zone then extends that base with its own numbering, so the same activity carries a different code in Dubai than it does in Sharjah or inside DMCC.
- ISIC Rev. 4
- Section N — group 82.3, organisation of conventions and trade shows; Section R for entertainment
- Licence category
- Commercial
- Regulator
- Emirate events and tourism authorities
Approvals beyond the licence
- Event permit
- Per event, from the emirate authority — in Dubai the Department of Economy and Tourism. The annual licence does not cover the event.
- Temporary structures
- Civil defence approval for staging, rigging and marquees.
- Content and performers
- Media Council approval for performances, and entry permits for visiting talent.
In practice
DWTC exists for this sector and holds the largest venue in the country. d3 and twofour54 serve the design and production ends respectively.
Coverage
Where it can be licensed.
Of the 40 licensing authorities across the UAE, 6 issue licences covering this activity, spread across 2 of the seven emirates.