15 September 2026
The 24th Arab Media Summit opened at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Tuesday 15 September 2026 and runs to 17 September. Organisers describe it as the largest edition in the summit history: around 10,000 media professionals and industry stakeholders, more than 400 speakers and more than 175 sessions over three days, with participants arriving from 23 countries. The summit is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council. The defining change this year is structural: eight specialised forums run under one roof instead of separate events spread across the calendar.
Eight forums under one roof
The summit is organised by the Dubai Press Club. For 2026 it consolidates eight programmes into a single three day agenda at one venue:
- Arab Media Forum, the long standing core of the summit and its main editorial platform.
- Government Communication Forum, held for the first time as part of the summit.
- Arab Youth Media Forum, aimed at early career journalists and creators.
- Films Forum, covering production, financing and distribution.
- Games Forum, covering the electronic games and interactive entertainment industry.
- Dubai PodFest, the podcasting and audio track.
- Arab Social Media Influencers Summit, the creator economy track.
- Euronews Forum, held for the first time outside the European continent.
Two of those eight are firsts. The Government Communication Forum joins the summit programme for the first time, putting public sector communication teams in the same building as commercial broadcasters and independent creators. The Euronews Forum leaves Europe for the first time in its history and holds its edition in Dubai, which is the clearest single signal in this year agenda of where the network sees its audience growth.
The summit in numbers
| Indicator | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Edition | 24th |
| Dates | 15 to 17 September 2026 |
| Venue | Dubai World Trade Centre |
| Expected participants | Around 10,000 |
| Speakers | More than 400 |
| Sessions | More than 175 |
| Countries represented | 23 |
| Specialised forums | 8 |
| Forums held for the first time in this format | 2 (Government Communication Forum, Euronews Forum) |
| Arab Media Award | 25th edition |
| Ibda’a, the Arab Youth Media Award | 10th edition |
| Arab Social Media Influencers Award | 6th edition |
Who is speaking
Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, is a keynote speaker. Ahmad Al-Sharaa, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, appears in a dialogue session at the official opening. Senior officials attending include His Excellency Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to His Highness the President of the UAE, and His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism. Information ministers from Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon are taking part, which makes the summit a regional policy venue as much as an industry gathering.
The three award programmes are handed out during the week: the Arab Media Award in its 25th edition, Ibda’a, the Arab Youth Media Award in its 10th, and the Arab Social Media Influencers Award in its 6th. Activity on the opening day started well before the formal programme, with media teams and content creators running interviews and live broadcasts from the venue roughly four hours ahead of the opening.
What it means for the media business in the UAE
The practical effect of the 2026 format is concentration. A company that previously had to track a film event, a gaming event, a podcast event and an influencer event separately now finds all of them in one building over three days. For a production house, an agency, a studio or a creator business working from the UAE, that compresses a year of business development into one week: commissioning editors, platform buyers, government communication teams and regional broadcasters are in the same halls at the same time.
Nothing in the summit changes any rule. No licensing requirement, fee, tax rate or visa condition was amended, and the summit does not create a filing obligation or a deadline for anyone. What it changes is access. The presence of the Government Communication Forum inside the summit matters commercially, because government communication budgets in the UAE are a significant buyer of production, media buying and content services, and this is the first year those teams sit inside the same programme as their suppliers.
For companies considering the UAE as a base for a media or creative business, the underlying route has not changed either. Media, advertising, production and content activities are licensed through the mainland authorities or through free zones built for the sector, and the choice between them still turns on the usual factors: where the clients are, whether a physical studio or office is needed, visa quotas, and whether the business needs to invoice government entities. Our guide to company formation in the UAE sets out how the two routes differ and what documents each one requires.
How this fits the wider Dubai event calendar
The Arab Media Summit is not the only major event at the Dubai World Trade Centre this week. Arabian Travel Market 2026 is running at the same venue over an overlapping window, 14 to 17 September, with around 55,000 participants expected. Two events of that size in the same complex in the same week is a scheduling fact worth planning around for anyone travelling in: hotel rates in the Trade Centre and Downtown area tighten in such weeks, and traffic around Sheikh Zayed Road at Exit 47 slows noticeably during opening and closing hours.
Practical checklist if you are attending
- Registration runs through the Dubai Press Club platform at dpc.org.ae; confirm your badge type before travelling, because forum access differs by track.
- With more than 175 sessions across eight forums, build the agenda by forum rather than by day, then filter by the people you want to meet.
- If your target is government communication work, the Government Communication Forum is the track to prioritise, and it is new this year.
- For media buying and platform deals, the Films Forum, Games Forum and Dubai PodFest are where the category specific buyers concentrate.
- Book accommodation and transfers early given the overlap with Arabian Travel Market at the same venue.
- If you intend to sign anything on site, have the corporate documents of your UAE entity ready in advance.
How Atlant Capital can help
We do not sell event tickets and we do not place media. What we do is the corporate side that sits underneath a media or creative business in the UAE: choosing between a mainland licence and a free zone licence for advertising, production and content activities, registering the company, obtaining establishment cards and investor or employee visas, and then opening a corporate bank account that can actually receive payments from regional clients and government entities. If a summit conversation turns into a contract, the entity has to exist and be bankable before the first invoice goes out.
For companies that decide to base a media operation here after the summit, we run the whole registration track from activity selection to licence issue, including the parts that routinely delay media licences: activity codes that do not match what the business actually does, and approvals from sector regulators. See our company setup service for scope and process.
Conclusion
The 24th Arab Media Summit is the largest in its history by the organisers own count: around 10,000 participants, more than 400 speakers, more than 175 sessions and 23 countries, all inside one venue from 15 to 17 September 2026. The substantive change is the consolidation of eight forums into a single agenda, and the two newcomers in that lineup, the Government Communication Forum and the first Euronews Forum outside Europe, say more about Dubai position in the regional media market than the headcount does. For businesses in the sector, the value of the week is access density rather than any regulatory change.
Source: Emirates 24|7.
FAQ
When and where is the Arab Media Summit 2026 held?
The 24th Arab Media Summit runs from 15 to 17 September 2026 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. It is organised by the Dubai Press Club under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the directives of Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Media Council. Organisers call it the largest edition in the summit history.
How many people attend the Arab Media Summit 2026 and what is on the agenda?
Around 10,000 media professionals and industry stakeholders are expected, with more than 400 speakers and more than 175 sessions across three days, and participants arriving from 23 countries. The agenda is built around eight specialised forums running at the same venue rather than as separate events.
Which eight forums make up the Arab Media Summit 2026?
The Arab Media Forum, the Government Communication Forum, the Arab Youth Media Forum, the Films Forum, the Games Forum, Dubai PodFest, the Arab Social Media Influencers Summit and the Euronews Forum. The Government Communication Forum is held for the first time as part of the summit, and the Euronews Forum is holding its first edition outside Europe.
Does the Arab Media Summit change licensing rules for media companies in the UAE?
No. The summit is an industry event and no law, licence fee, tax rate or visa requirement was amended because of it. Media, advertising, production and content businesses are still licensed either through mainland authorities or through sector free zones, and the choice between the two routes depends on client base, physical premises, visa quotas and whether the company needs to invoice government entities.
