Euroviews. Twenty-five years on, Dubai’s media bet has become a global platform

Dubai’s Media Strategy Reaches a New Stage After 25 Years

Poinews.com – Dubai is preparing to welcome thousands of media professionals as the Arab Media Summit 2026 opens at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 15 to 17 September. The event arrives at a significant moment for the city’s media sector, which has grown from an early policy experiment into a large international business and creative hub.

Twenty-five years ago, Dubai set out to attract global media organisations by making space for them, establishing a regulatory environment and encouraging companies to base regional operations in the city. The approach reflected a belief that a connected, outward-looking media landscape could support the development of a rapidly growing economy.

That strategy has since produced a sizable industry. In 2025, media activities accounted for 1.42% of Dubai’s gross domestic product. Foreign direct investment in the sector reached US$1.62 billion in 2024, while media exports totalled US$25 million in 2025.

Dubai now has 25,000 private media companies and a workforce of 120,000 people across media and creative roles. That community includes professionals from a broad range of national and cultural backgrounds, giving the city one of the region’s most international talent pools.

A summit designed for a changing industry

The Arab Media Summit has expanded alongside the sector it represents. This year’s programme is its biggest yet and is expected to bring together 10,000 attendees. Rather than operating as one general conference, it now includes eight specialist forums addressing the increasingly varied forms that media takes.

Its programme includes the Arab Media Forum, Government Communication Forum, youth forum, Films Forum, Games Forum, Dubai PodFest, and a gathering for social-media creators and influencers. International forums organised with global partners also form part of the agenda. The Arab Media Award will mark its 25th edition during the summit.

The broad format recognises that media is no longer defined solely by newspapers, television channels or traditional newsrooms. Podcast producers, game developers, filmmakers, online publishers, social platforms and independent creators now play major roles in shaping how audiences discover information and entertainment.

For readers and viewers, that shift means media influence is increasingly dispersed. Audiences may follow a television broadcaster, a podcast host, a gaming community or a creator with a reach comparable to long-established media brands. The summit’s different forums reflect the need for people working across those fields to discuss shared challenges, including technology, distribution, credibility and audience trust.

More voices in the international media landscape

The rise of Dubai as a media centre also reflects a wider redistribution of influence. For much of the modern media era, international reach was concentrated in a relatively small group of established cities. That balance is evolving as organisations in the Arabian Gulf, Turkey, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa develop their own global audiences.

Broadcasters and digital publishers in these regions are investing in production, technology and online distribution while reporting in their own languages and defining their own editorial priorities. Artificial intelligence is becoming part of that transformation, particularly in newsroom workflows and digital publishing.

This development need not be viewed as a rivalry among media capitals. A broader range of well-resourced voices can widen the international conversation. When societies are able to present their own experiences, priorities and perspectives directly, audiences have more opportunities to understand events beyond familiar narratives.

That diversity also creates a practical need for stronger professional relationships across regions. Shared work on reporting standards, verification and production can help media organisations operate in an environment where stories travel instantly across borders and platforms.

European and Arab media meet in Dubai

One of the key events scheduled for 16 September is the Euronews Forum, being held in Dubai for the first time. It is also the first occasion on which the forum has taken place outside Europe.

Its discussions will focus on how regional media companies can build international audiences, how governments and news organisations interact in a reshaped information environment, and how verification practices and artificial intelligence are changing newsroom operations.

The choice of Dubai underlines the close connections between Europe and the Arab world. Economic and cultural links between the two regions continue to develop, while audiences increasingly encounter the same major stories through the same digital platforms. Newsrooms, producers and publishers are therefore working within a more interconnected public sphere than in previous decades.

Gathering European and Arab media professionals in one place can produce outcomes that extend beyond discussion. Such meetings can help create co-productions, commercial partnerships, professional exchanges and longer-term working relationships. They can also encourage common approaches to issues such as verification, technology and audience engagement.

From regional base to media testing ground

Dubai’s role has changed considerably since it first invited international media organisations to establish a presence there. The city remains a location from which global outlets cover the region, but it has increasingly become a place where new media models are debated, developed and tested.

The Arab Media Summit illustrates that transition. Its significance lies not only in the scale of its attendance or the number of forums it hosts, but also in the range of industries represented. News, government communication, film, gaming, podcasting and creator-led platforms now occupy the same broader media ecosystem.

As the summit begins, Dubai is positioning itself as a meeting point for that ecosystem: regional in its setting, international in its participants and focused on an industry whose future is being shaped by technology, new audiences and a growing number of global voices.