Gulf Bike Week a New Addition to AMD’s World Championship Affiliate Program

Dubai-UAE: 09 December, 2010 – Clarion Events Middle East today announced the Gulf Bike Week as the latest custom motorcycle show to be added to the International Affiliate Program of the AMD Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building.

To be held under that patronage of His Excellency Mohammed Bin Sulayem, FIA Vice-President for Sport and President of the Automobile & Touring Club of the UAE (ATCUAE), the Gulf Bike Week will take place from February 10 to 12, 2011, at the Dubai Festival City and is designed to recognise and showcase the excellence of custom bike builders.

The event, now in its third year, is an established part of Dubai’s calendar, and Clarion Events Middle East, along with its supporters Harley Davidson of UAE and the 6^th Dubai Bike Week are preparing for the electrifying return of the annual Gulf Bike Week.

Robin Bradley, owner of the AMD Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building, said: “The World Championship Program is all about promoting custom bike design and engineering excellence and we are delighted to be able to work with Harley-Davidson of UAE and MECOM Forums to help showcase custom motorcycling for consumers in the Gulf.

“Rewarding the winning contestant at Dubai Bike Week's custom competition with the chance to compete against the world's best bikes, will help to further promote the market in the Middle East.”

The AMD Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building takes place at the world renowned Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, USA, and contestants entering their latest builds in the show in Dubai will compete to win a trip to Sturgis to participate in the World Championship.

Marcel Bode, General Manager, Harley-Davidson of UAE, said: “Harley-Davidson of UAE, founders of the Dubai Bike Week, is proud to be associated with the Gulf Bike Week. For 2011, Harley-Davidson of UAE and Dubai Bike Week have managed to affiliate the show with the AMD world championship of custom bike building. The Gulf Bike Week is a great platform for us to interact with potential prospects who would like to enter the Harley-Davidson lifestyle.”

In February 2011, biking enthusiasts from all over the Middle East will witness the highly anticipated event at Dubai Festival City, complete with performances and activities for the whole family.

The 6,800 sq m exhibition marquee is expected to draw in over 40,000 visitors and will showcase motorcycles and biking and lifestyle accessories from more than 150 leading manufacturers, including, Harley Davidson, Ducatti, BMW, Kawasaki, KTM, Honda, Victory and Polaris.

Christopher Hudson, Managing Director, Clarion Events Middle East, said:  “We are proud to be affiliated with the prestigious AMD Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building. Bringing together many of the world's finest custom bike builders and their machines, the championship will highlight the artistry and craftsmanship of the bike builders who engineer motorcycling perfection and contribute to the evolution of two-wheeled transport for future generations.”

The Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building includes over 23 events in 18 different countries across the world, the latest being the UAE. At such events, the total public attendances frequently surpass 1 million enthusiasts a year, in markets worth some 20 million motorcyclists and nearly a billion consumers in general.

The Gulf Bike Week 2011 is the Middle East’s only dedicated urban bike festival in the region. It supports a market that is worth over $1.75 billion regionally and is poised to grow, with the KSA and UAE expected to maintain the majority of the region’s market share.

About MECOM Forums

MECOM Forums is a Clarion Events Partner with offices in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. MECOM Forums, a Clarion Events Partner has grown into a highly successful business. In 2009, over 800,000 targeted people visited their 200 exhibitions, conferences and seated events across Britain, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Middle East and Asia.

The business-to-business and business-to-consumer, serve 15 different market sectors that include; Defence, Energy, Construction, Retail, Leisure, Entertainment, Finance and Life Sciences.

Clarion Events employs over 400 people in twelve offices: UK (London Earls Court Exhibition Centre, and Birmingham NEC); Germany (Bielefeld); The Netherlands (Maarsen); South Africa (Cape Town); USA (Connecticut and Reno): Brazil (Sao Paulo); United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai); Singapore and Turkey.

More information on www.mecomforums.com.

Winners of Metering International Excellence Awards Announced; Four Prestigious Utilities Honoured with ‘Tomorrow’s Leader’Award

Dubai-UAE: 07 December, 2010 – Metering  International,  the  global  leader

in  metering  and  grids  information,  today  announced  the  winners  of  the  Metering

International Excellence Awards. The awards mark each organisation’s contribution

to the utilities and projects that have caught the attention of the wider international

smart grid community for their innovation and quality.

The Metering International Excellence Awards ceremony took place at the Shangri-

la  Hotel  in  Dubai.  Four  leading  utilities  were  honoured  with ‘Tomorrow’s  Leader’

award  for  having  demonstrated  a  commitment  to  the  smart  grid  future  and

making  promising  initial  strides  towards  the  smart  grid  goal.  Saad  H.  Al  Mansour,

Executive Vice President, Distribution and Customer Service and Yousif Al Barrack,

Automation  and  IT  Distribution  Systems  Manager  received  the  award  for  Saudi

Electricity  Company;  Abdulla  Al  Aghbari,  VIP  Distribution  Planning  received  the

award  for  Dubai  Electricity  and  Water  Authority;  Saeed  Nassouri,  Senior  Technical

Advisor,  received  the  award  for  Abu  Dhabi  Water  and  Electricity  Authority;  and

Ahmed  Nasser  Al  Nasser,  Manager,  Electricity  Projects  received  the  award  for

Kahrama, Qatar.

Loubna  Aghfazi,  Portfolio  Director,  Spintelligent,  a  Clarion  Events  partner,

said: “Metering utilities across the Middle East are making substantial investments

to ensure that the smart grid infrastructure is state of the art and continue to push

the  industry  benchmarks.  The  Metering  International  Excellence  Award  recognizes

the commitment, innovation and leadership each of the utilities have demonstrated,

and it is an honour to have various industry leaders join us on this special day.”  

Established  in  1996,  Metering  International  is  the  global  leader  in  delivering  utility

metering,  billing  and  customer  management  news  to  loyal  readers  in  over  200 countries worldwide.

Smart Grids Middle East 2010 Commences Today in Dubai

Dubai-UAE: 05 December, 2010 – Spintelligent, a division of Clarion Events, today inaugurates the annual edition of Smart Grids Middle East – a key forum for the region’s utility and power sector.

The Smart Grids Middle East 2010 conference has brought together over 200 senior executives - from the utility and power sectors, and from Government energy authorities.  

The event taking place at Dubai’s Shangri La Hotel from 5–7 December, 2010 has attracted over 20 utilities and 20 countries. The conference consists of panel discussions and presentations about the smart grid from three perspectives: technological, commercial, and regulatory.  

Inspired by the need to reduce carbon emissions, save money and improve customer service, the event will highlight intelligent technologies seeking to improve the efficiency, functionality and flexibility of the current power infrastructure.

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), said: “We have already implemented a number of smart technology measures on our electricity networks such as using the latest SCADA systems, intelligent asset monitoring, control and automation. We have improved the distribution network efficiency by conversion of most of our 6.6 kV networks to more efficient 11 kV networks.

“We have succeeded in reducing substantially our electricity network losses and our unaccounted-for water through network rehabilitation and more optimal network design, engineering, maintenance and procurement. Additionally, on our SmartGrids journey, we have interconnected our electricity grid with neighbouring utilities.”

The conference features keynote speeches on topics of vital importance, including the smart metering revolution, by thought leaders and key players in the utilities and power sector from the Middle East, Europe and the USA. Discussions dwell on changes in the utilities and power industry, and how companies can benefit from this change.

In response to the growing green building and smart city concepts in the Middle East, the conference aims to introduce innovative methods and technologies for greener and more efficient future. The event offers delegates informative sessions on how to build a smart grid city, technologies for intelligent buildings, smart metering and automated metering infrastructure.

Alongside the conference, Metering International, the world’s foremost authority on smart metering will host an exclusive workshop by Dr. Howard Scott on Managing your Smart Meter/ AMI project.

Dr. Howard Scott, Managing Director, Cognyst International, said: “The Middle East is the ideal place to start an AMI or Smart Grid project.  The need to move utility plants to the next generation clearly exist. More importantly, the business case in the Middle East is probably more compelling than anywhere else in the world.  This workshop will address these and other related themes.”

Intelligent buildings and smart, connected cities form important components of the smart grid. According to Pike Research, approximately $200 billion will be spent on smart grid projects by the year 2015. The Smart Grid is a reality for nearly eight per cent of utilities in the world which have begun to implement smart grid projects, and an estimated 37 per cent that are conducting experiments and pilot studies into smart grid projects.

For the second consecutive year, the annual excellence awards will be presented to local industry leaders, utilities and projects that stand out in the region for their quality, innovativeness and efficient use of resources.

Smart Grids Middle East provides an arena where current and future leaders can network with utilities’ and government officials, and develop an understanding of how the smart grid will impact and revolutionise the utility sector in the Middle East region.

About Spintelligent

Spintelligent is part of Clarion Events, a global business-to-business event organizer with over 280 staff in offices in the UK, Netherlands, United States, South Africa, Brazil, UAE and Singapore. 

Spintelligent forms part of Clarion’s specialist energy and utilities portfolio which also includes Synergy and The Energy Exchange.  Spintelligent has established itself as the key strategic information provider to the global metering, meter-to-cash and customer-end technology sector, and as a specialist in African infrastructure development, with a focus on the power and mining sectors. 

For more than 13 years, Spintelligent has been building, sharing, connecting and thinking about the business sectors we serve.  Our industry leading media products – publications, online portals, conferences, exhibitions, industry reports – enable us to share knowledge and insights, build relationships and deliver real business value to our customers and stakeholders. 

Spintelligent is recognized for its print and electronic publications, with market-leading brands including Metering International, ESI Africa and Mining Review Africa. Its regular global events and exhibitions, as well as its critical business intelligence and integrated marketing services make it a leader in its field. The company’s highly skilled resources in management, marketing, research and production allow for unique products 

ARABIAN SPONSORSHIP FORUM BRINGS TOGETHER ELITE OF ARABIAN GULF MARKETING INDUSTRY

Region’s leading sports and entertainment marketing conference returns to Abu Dhabi this week -

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 5^th December, 2010  The Arabian Sponsorship Forum is expected to see more than 300 of the region’s leading marketers, agencies and rights-holders attend the two-day Forum at The Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi on December 8^th and 9^th.

The ‘Introduction to Sponsorship’ workshop, which will be attended by more than 150 undergraduates and recent graduates, will be led by Professor T.Bettina Cornwell, from the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon, who is widely regarded as the one of the world’s leading sponsorship academics, and Nick Cottage, Head of Sponsorship, Etihad.

The 2010 key note speech is from Dr Danny Jordaan, CEO of the Local Organising Committee of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In addition, there will be other key note speeches from Kevin Roberts, the Global CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi; Peter Baumgartner, Chief Commercial Officer, Eithad Airways; and Jocelyn Robiot, the Global Marketing Director of adidas International.

This year’s Forum also involves a new partnership for stakeholders in the sponsorship industry. Aabar, Emirates, Etihad, Etisalat, Fast Track, Flash, MediaPro, OmanSail, UAE University, Twofour 54 and Zayed Sports City are all confirmed as Corporate Partners. They each receive rights and benefits for their employees to attend all the sessions, enter the Awards and promote their products and services via a new Guide called ‘Opportunities in Sponsorship 2011’ which will be published by Professional Sports Group after the Forum.

In addition, delegates from the many of the region’s leading brands are also attending including  ADCB, ADNIC, Barclays, Du, HSBC, HP, L’Oreal, LG, Nokia, Red Bull and Sorouh.

HE Mohamed Al Mahmoud, the General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council -  the patron and platinum sponsor of the 2010 Forum - is pleased with the development of the 2010 conference:

“This year’s Forum has developed well from the inaugural event, particularly with the emphasis on learning and best practice. The ‘Introduction to Sponsorship’ session with Professor Cornwell is important for both recent Emirati graduates and undergraduates. The support of the leading agencies, companies, rights holders and universities within Abu Dhabi, the UAE and across the Gulf is also important.”

“Sponsorship is a core element of our remit to develop sports in Abu Dhabi. This initiative helps us all to develop the sponsorship industry in the region.”

Jamie Cunningham, Chairman of the Arabian Sponsorship Forum, commented:

“We would like to thank the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Sports Care Program for their patronage and support. There is no better venue for this year’s Forum than Yas Hotel given its location on Yas Marina Circuit, the venue of the Arabian Gulf’s biggest sponsorship event of 2010.”

“We are excited that Dr Jordaan is attending, particularly given this week’s FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi and last week’s announcement that Qatar will host the Arabian Gulf’s first World Cup in 2022.”

In addition to Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Sports Care Program and The Yas Hotel, Gold sponsors include IFM Sports Marketing Surveys, the world’s leading sports consulting and research company; and The Tribe, a leading UAE digital firm.

For more information, please visit www.arabiansponsorship.com