Cityscape Global gets down to business

Cityscape Global gets down to business

Having evolved from Cityscape Dubai, the brand’s flagship business-to-business event gets under way with real estate in international emerging markets under the spotlight

The first Cityscape Global will open its doors today (4 October 2010) until Thursday at Dubai World Trade Centre with a focus on international emerging markets, many of which have dramatically outperformed more mature markets such as the US and Europe in recent years.

The flagship event of the world’s largest business-to-business real estate investment and development brand is being held in Dubai for the ninth year and has evolved from Cityscape Dubai as a result of the increased international participation it has attracted.

“Going Global is a natural development following eight successful years as Cityscape Dubai,” said Chris Speller, Cityscape Group Director. “With a number of emerging markets continuing to grow throughout the global economic downturn and post-crisis recovery, it is fitting that we focus on these nations this year.”

“However, it is still important to acknowledge Dubai’s role in the development of this flagship exhibition and conference. Dubai is now an international destination for world class events and remains the Middle East’s primary business hub. Therefore we will continue to host this important real estate event in Dubai,” added Speller.

Headlining the conference schedule will be Tom Barrack, as he discusses driving international investment in challenging times, as the opening session of the Real Estate Investment and Development Conference. Other topics under discussion include; Sam Chandan’s keynote presentation focusing on global economic trends and recovery prospects; realigning portfolios; and repositioning Dubai as a global leader.

The conferences have also attracted top international speakers with Farshid Moussavi from Foreign Office Architects in the UK and Dr Suha Ozkan, Founding President, World Architecture Community and CEO, INNOCent Innovation Centre in Turkey, two of the key participants at the World Architecture Congress today (Monday) and tomorrow.

Retail City, meanwhile, brings together leading figures from major retailers, investors, shopping centre developers, and authorities across the MENA region. Starting tomorrow (Tuesday), the City Leaders Forum provides a two-day series of presentations and panel discussions covering the issues facing government leaders and policymakers around the world, such as innovation as a driver of sustainable growth and rapid urban expansion.

Entry for industry professionals is free throughout the four-day show, but in line with its return to a true business-to-business event, it will not be open to the general public. In total, the 180 exhibitors will cover a total floor space of 30,000 square metres, with the Egypt pavilion booking the largest stand at more than 800 square metres.

“The days of short term speculators flipping properties with significant premiums, are thankfully gone and the consolidation of Cityscape Global is a reflection of the more sober, considered and sustainable market conditions we are now witnessing,” said Speller.

“Even so Cityscape Global has still attracted many local and regional heavyweights and Emaar, Nakheel, Mubadala, RAK Properties and Dubai Properties Group will all be in attendance. Overall exhibitors will concentrate on showcasing completed projects, or finished phases in master communities but having said that, we are looking forward to some launches from emerging markets globally, including Egypt, Poland, France, Bahrain and Morocco,” added Speller.

Elsewhere today, Cityscape Intelligence, the brand’s information and market data service will release its ‘Focus on Global’ report. Produced in conjunction with Proleads, the report examines the impact of the financial crisis on Saudi Arabian economic fundamentals in light of changing oil prices and government moves to diversify away from an oil-based economy.

The Cityscape Awards for Architecture in Emerging Markets will be held on Tuesday, which aim to find the best in class across all areas of construction and design. Now in the eighth edition, The Young Design Award is an additional highlight this year to find the most talented students based in the UAE. New this year also is an innovative award scheme entitled, The Industry Choice Award. This award will be given to the most popular project showcased onsite, as voted by visitors to Cityscape Global.

Delegates can also take advantage of a number of value-added incentives, including the CEO Networking Lunch, Investor Round Tables and Business Matching Service, which is a dedicated online tool that facilitates one-on-one meetings between exhibitors, conference delegates, speakers and VIPs.

For more information about Cityscape Global, please visit www.cityscapeglobal.com.


Photo caption: Scenes from Cityscape 2009.

About Cityscape

Cityscape, is the largest business-to-business real estate investment and development brand in the world, encompassing a series of major exhibitions and conferences that take place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; Asia; Saudi Arabia; USA and Latin America; .

Cityscape Global is now a true reflection of the event and its future direction says organiser

Cityscape Dubai now ‘Global’

Cityscape Global is now a true reflection of the event and its future direction says organiser

Cityscape management announced today (Monday 8 February 2010) that Cityscape Dubai has been renamed as Cityscape Global, acknowledging how the event has already evolved into a significant international platform for the real estate industry.

“Cityscape Dubai has not only grown significantly over the last eight years, it has evolved into the most significant real estate platform in the world,” said Rohan Marwaha, Managing Director Cityscape. “Cityscape Global is based on more than eight years of building business, trusted partnerships with global associations, bodies and real estate partners. Our global portfolio of products and services that make up the Cityscape brand all stem from the original Cityscape event held in Dubai.”

It is interesting to note that out of the entire portfolio of Cityscape events, Cityscape Dubai has a substantially larger proportion of international participants than any other Cityscape event.

“In 2009 over 25% of registered participants came from outside of the UAE, which translates into almost 10,000 participants flying in from 115 different countries. We hope to reach a 50-50 distribution over the next 2 years (50% from the GCC and 50% international),” said Marwaha.

The announcement was timed to coincide with the first green shoots of global economic recovery, with the real estate industry having survived the most drastic economic upheaval the world has ever seen.

“It is only natural that Dubai continues to host Cityscape Global, it is a world renowned business destination, with the infrastructure, accessibility, hotels, transport, and facilities. Equally important, is the fact that Dubai is a gateway to more than one third of the world’s population, and an access point to many of the fastest growing real estate markets in the world,” said Marwaha.

Europe and the US have their own major real estate industry events that predominantly attract professionals from those markets. Over the last 5 years no event other than Cityscape Dubai has provided access to the Asia Pacific and MENA markets to such a significant degree and scale. Cityscape Global is simply an acknowledgement of this fact. It is a platform which showcases real estate opportunities and provides access to investors from all over the world” said Marwaha.

One only need look back to previous exhibitors at Cityscape Dubai to recognise the importance of changing our name. City development authorities, government agencies and inward investment bodies from all over the world continue to be part of the event – Urban Redevelopment Authority (Singapore), Iskander Region (Malaysia), Krasnodar Krai (Russia), City of Hamburg, La Defense (Paris), Region Lazio, City of Rome, Government of Ontario, are just a few names to consider.

2010 will be the ninth year that a Cityscape event will have been held in Dubai and Cityscape Global, which takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre on 4-7 October

“It is worth remembering that quite apart from Cityscape Global we have grown the Cityscape brand from Sao Paulo and New York to Singapore and China. In addition we managed to successfully launch Cityscape Saudi Arabia last year,” added Marwaha.

The run-up to Cityscape Global will also get a facelift, with the newly introduced business initiatives, such as Cityscape Connect, CEO Breakfasts and City Leaders Forum (CLF) (an invitation-only event, bringing together industry leaders from around the world to discuss issues ranging from policy and planning, to sustainability and urban development), outlining the new direction that Cityscape Global will take.

“During Cityscape Global, six conferences will run simultaneously, where delegates will be able to access any sessions across any of the conferences for a single price,” said Marwaha.

For more information about Cityscape Global, log on to www.cityscape.ae

Photo-caption: From left to right: Chris Speller, Group Director, Cityscape and Rohan Marwaha, Managing Director Cityscape

About Cityscape

Cityscape, is the largest business-to-business real estate investment and development brand in the world, encompassing a series of major exhibitions and conferences that take place in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; Asia; Saudi Arabia; USA; Latin America; India and Russia.