How the Middle East became a global hub for mega events

88,235 — that was the number of spectators at a single football match in Doha. I am talking about the crowd at the “Battle of Lusail”, the dramatic quarter-final clash between Argentina and the Netherlands at Lusail Stadium during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Argentina eventually won the match 4–3 on penalties after a 2–2 draw, advancing to the semi-finals and ultimately lifting the World Cup trophy.

Standing behind the Argentine fan stand that night, I could not just hear the choir of thousands chanting “Vamos, vamos, Argentina”; I could feel it. With more than half the stadium singing, dancing, shouting and jumping in sync, the atmosphere became a powerful wave of sound and energy. In many ways, that moment felt even bigger than watching Lionel Messi strike the ball and score.

While it was my first time watching a FIFA World Cup match, and my first time seeing Messi play in person, it was also my first time witnessing people from so many different countries gathered in the same place at the same time.

During that same trip, I also met an Argentine fan who had sold nearly all his assets, his lifetime savings and travelled more than 13,500 kilometres just to watch the tournament and cheer for Messi.

He was not the only one. Millions of fans from across the world travelled to Qatar during the World Cup, filling stadiums, hotels and fan zones across the country. For a nation historically not known as a major tourism destination hub, the scale of international travel and spending was remarkable.

And this is not just anecdotal. According to a study by Mukendi, M.H., Yin, G. and Adomako-Ansah, J titled “The Economic Impact of Sport Events on Economy: Case Study on Qatar 2022 World Cup,” the tournament generated substantial economic benefits for the country.

The study revealed that the immediate economic impacts included $10.5 billion in tourism revenue and $1.8 billion in job creation. The event also triggered large infrastructure investments that generated an estimated 15.38% return. Qatar’s GDP grew by 3.5%, while the share of the non-oil sector increased from 40% to 45%, highlighting the country’s progress toward economic diversification.

“Qatar is a smaller market by population but punches significantly above its weight — the FIFA World Cup proved that,” says Zyed Abbes, Head of Planning & Integration for the GCC Games 2026 and senior spokesperson at the Qatar Olympic Committee.

However, the 2022 World Cup was not an overnight success. Instead, it represented the culmination of more than two decades of strategic investment in infrastructure, aviation connectivity, logistics capabilities and global event hosting.

Adding to that point, Carles Jorba, Head of Operations at Dorna Sports, now known as MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group, mentions that Qatar’s transformation has been a long-term process. “Over the past 20 years, we have seen how Qatar has invested heavily in transforming the country into a year-round global destination,” Jorba says. He also mentioned that the Middle Eastern country now hosts hundreds of sports, cultural and business events annually, and visitor numbers have continued to rise, growing by more than 25% year-on-year following the World Cup.

According to Abbes, these changes were part of a deliberate strategy. “It didn’t happen by accident,” he explains. “What you're seeing is the convergence of three things: political will, economic necessity and geography. Governments across the Gulf recognised early that events are not entertainment — they are economic infrastructure. They diversify revenue, they build soft power, and they attract investment that outlasts the event itself.”

“Add to that the region's position at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, and you have a natural staging ground for global gatherings,” adds Abbes.

Two decades of building a global events ecosystem
One of the earliest milestones in Qatar’s journey as a global sporting destination was the MotoGP Grand Prix, which first arrived in the country in 2004.

“MotoGP has visited Qatar every year since 2004 without interruption, even during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Qatar has consistently demonstrated its ability to host and organise the Grand Prix smoothly and efficiently,” says Jorba.

“MotoGP has visited Qatar every year since 2004 without interruption, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Qatar has consistently demonstrated its ability to host and organise the Grand Prix smoothly and efficiently.”
Carles Jorba, MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group

Over time, Qatar steadily expanded its portfolio of global sporting events. While talking about the diversity of events, Jorba mentioned that MotoGP was the first of these in 2004, followed by the Asian Games in 2006, and ultimately the FIFA World Cup in November 2022. “This steady progression highlights Qatar’s long-term commitment to hosting world-class global events and its capacity to deliver them at the highest level,” he adds.

Logistics behind a global sporting spectacle
Behind every international sporting event lies a massive logistics operation. “For a MotoGP event in Qatar, we mainly transport equipment belonging to the teams, motorcycles, spare parts and tyres, as well as the full set of materials related to timekeeping, TV broadcasting, telecommunications, media and advertising,” Jorba says.

In total, the championship moved between 380 and 390 tonnes of cargo for the Qatar race alone, highlighting the scale of logistics required to stage a single international sporting event. Those shipments travel through a carefully coordinated network of air freight, sea freight and road transport before reaching the Lusail International Circuit. Teams, broadcast companies, sponsors and event organisers must align their schedules precisely so that equipment arrives exactly when needed.

The complexity of such operations reflects a broader reality: major sporting events function as temporary global supply chains. “People often underestimate the logistics behind these events,” says Abbes. “You're coordinating inbound cargo from dozens of countries, often across different freight modes, against a fixed and immovable deadline. The moment the event starts, everything has to be in place.”

The types of goods transported vary by event but typically include staging structures, broadcast equipment, audiovisual systems, exhibition materials, and large volumes of branded merchandise.

“The cargo profile varies by event type, but typically you're looking at a mix of exhibition structures and display systems, audiovisual and broadcast technology, staging and rigging equipment, branded materials and increasingly high-value technical installations,” Abbes explains. Much of this equipment originates from specialised production hubs across the world.

“In practical terms, the highest concentration is typically in the UAE (Dubai/Abu Dhabi) and Saudi Arabia (Riyadh/Jeddah/Dammam), with Qatar also playing an outsized role for global events and high-profile congresses.”
Jonas Bengtsson, Creative Freight Europe

“Origin markets tend to be Europe — Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK — for production and staging equipment, China for manufacturing and display, and the US for technology and media infrastructure,” he says.

Intra-regional sourcing is also growing. “Dubai, in particular, has developed into a genuine logistics and production hub for the broader Middle East,” Abbes adds.

The Middle East’s expanding events ecosystem
While Qatar’s success in hosting the World Cup placed the country firmly on the global events map, the broader Middle East has been undergoing a similar transformation. Across the Gulf, governments have increasingly recognised the economic potential of large international gatherings, not just as tourism drivers, but as catalysts for infrastructure development, investment and global visibility.

Farah Minwalla, who works in City Management at Expo City Dubai, has experienced this transformation from several vantage points across her career. “I have seen event delivery through five very different worlds: Cirque du Soleil, YouTube and Google, Expo 2020 Dubai, and now Expo City Dubai,” she says.

According to Minwalla, the Middle East’s emergence as a global events hub has been driven by the convergence of several key factors. “From my perspective, the Middle East has become a leading global events hub because it brings together connectivity, infrastructure, ambition and a very high standard of execution,” she explains.

Adding to that, Jonas Bengtsson, Founder of Creative Freight Europe AB, mentioned From my perspective, three forces are converging. First, geography and connectivity: the region sits naturally between Europe, Asia and Africa, which makes it ideal for global delegate flows and time-critical cargo. Second, strategic investment in aviation, ports, roads, hotels and purpose-built venues over the last decade has removed many of the bottlenecks that previously limited scale. Third, clear government intent — events are often tied to national economic diversification agendas, so there is strong alignment across authorities to make major exhibitions and congresses happen smoothly and repeatedly.”

“In cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, excellence, and moreover operational excellence, is expected across every touchpoint, from programming delivery to guest experience,” Farah adds. That operational consistency has helped the region build trust among international organisers.

A regional race to host global events
Within the Middle East, several countries are now competing to attract international exhibitions, concerts, sporting competitions and large conferences. The United Arab Emirates remains one of the region’s most established event markets.

“From what I have seen, the UAE remains one of the region’s strongest and most established event markets, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi combining scale, connectivity and consistently strong delivery,” Minwalla says.

“From what I have seen, the UAE remains one of the region’s strongest and most established event markets, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi combining scale, connectivity and consistently strong delivery.”
Farah Minwalla, Expo City Dubai

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has rapidly expanded its events sector as part of its Vision 2030 economic transformation programme. In fact, it is set to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. “Saudi Arabia is growing rapidly because of Vision 2030 and the level of national investment going into events, culture and tourism,” she adds.

Qatar continues to build on the momentum created by the World Cup. “Qatar continues to build momentum through targeted, high-profile business and cultural events,” Minwalla notes.

“In practical terms, the highest concentration is typically in the UAE (Dubai/Abu Dhabi) and Saudi Arabia (Riyadh/Jeddah/Dammam), with Qatar also playing an outsized role for global events and high-profile congresses. Growth is being driven by (a) aggressive venue and hospitality expansion, (b) airline network reach, (c) strong bids for rotating global shows, and (d) an increasingly professionalised local ecosystem of organisers, contractors, and specialist logistics providers,” said Bengtsson.

Government backing as a decisive advantage
For global event organisers, one factor stands above many others when choosing host destinations: government support. Radu Rus, Chief Technical and Production Officer at UNTOLD Group, says this backing has played a decisive role in the Middle East’s rise as a global events hub. “As a top festival organiser perspective, I feel that we are discussing about two or three major factors. Governmental support is the most important. This was decisive also for UNTOLD Group, as we were invited in Dubai by the local authorities,” Rus explains.

Across the region, governments have integrated major events into broader tourism and economic development strategies. Infrastructure investment has reinforced these ambitions. “All Middle East countries invested a lot in modern airports, highways, hotels and venues,” he explains. “Many of these facilities were built in the past 30 years.”

“All Middle East countries invested a lot in modern airports, highways, hotels and venues.”
Radu Rus, UNTOLD Group

These infrastructural developments are crucial for the logistics of big international events like UNTOLD Dubai. Talking about the logistics of his event, Rus explains, “More than 380 trucks delivered equipment, including one big mainstage exceeding 500 tonnes and six secondary stages.”

The festival also involved multiple international suppliers. “We had complicated production while building during the night to not disturb the existing ecosystem of Dubai Parks and Resorts,” he adds.

The cargo behind global events
Large events involve a diverse range of cargo categories. According to Rus, staging equipment accounts for a major portion of shipments. “The most common freight includes staging equipment such as audio speakers, video LED screens, lighting fixtures, lasers and DJ gear,” he says. Rigging systems are another major component. “These include motors, trussing and scaffolding,” Rus explains. On the other hand, supporting infrastructure equipment such as machinery, office containers, toilets, fencing and flooring also plays a major role in event logistics.

For UNTOLD Dubai 2025, many suppliers sourced equipment locally, but much of it still originated from Europe. “Our suppliers filled their warehouses before the season, mainly from Europe: Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands,” Rus adds.

Transporting this equipment requires careful coordination across multiple freight modes from sea to air to road. Adding to that, Rus explains, “Sea freight is used for delivering the equipment needed before the season starts.” On the other hand, air freight is used for touring and for last-minute deliveries or high-value equipment.

Regional road transport handles final-mile delivery. However, transport modes alone cannot guarantee success. “The real answer to managing tight schedules is planning discipline,” Abbes emphasises.

Customs and regulatory hurdles
Even with strong logistics planning, regulatory requirements can create challenges. Temporary event imports often rely on the ATA Carnet system, which simplifies cross-border movement of professional equipment. However, the process still requires meticulous documentation. “Our biggest challenge was related to the documentation of ATA Carnet including the packing list,” Rus explains.

Abbes agrees that documentation accuracy is critical. “Discrepancies between packing lists and physical shipments create delays that cascade through the entire setup schedule,” he says.

“Governments across the Gulf recognised early that events are not entertainment — they are economic infrastructure.”
Zyed Abbes, GCC Games 2026 and Qatar Olympic Committee

Bengtsson also mentioned that the most common challenges are documentation accuracy, product classification, and ensuring the chosen temporary import method matches the shipment profile. He added, “Risks include mismatched invoices/packing lists, unclear serial-number tracking for re-export, and last-minute changes to shipped content. Certain categories (e.g., telecoms, batteries, drones, chemicals, medical devices, broadcast gear) can also trigger additional approvals. The solution is early compliance planning, clean master data, and experienced local customs handling aligned with the event schedule.”

The future of event logistics
As the Middle East continues to expand its global events footprint, logistics operations are expected to evolve in several ways.

Digitalisation will play an increasingly important role in tracking and coordinating cargo. “Using GPS for all the trucks and knowing every single moment where the equipment are will define how production on site will continue,” Rus says.

On the other hand, regional supplier networks are also growing, which could reduce reliance on long-distance shipping. Sustainability is also becoming another priority for organisers and for that advance planning will be more critical. “As expectations rise, teams will need to think further ahead, work more methodically and make more intentional choices around suppliers, materials and transport,” adds Minwalla.

Ultimately, the success of large events depends on the strength of coordination across the entire supply chain. “Logistics is never just about volume. It is about clear ownership and coordinated teams,” Minwalla says.

Though recent tensions in the Middle East have forced the cancellation or postponement of several high-profile events, including Formula 1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the IAAPA Expo Middle East and multiple regional football matches, these disruptions represent only a part of the whole picture.

On the positive side, several major events have continued to take place across the region. The 30th edition of the Dubai World Cup, held on March 28, 2026 at Meydan Racecourse, marked a milestone for the sport.

With governments across the Gulf continuing to invest heavily in tourism, infrastructure and global connectivity, the Middle East’s role as a hub for global events is expected to endure.