Filming and photography rules at Dubai World Trade Centre and Expo City

Your stand, your team, your product

As exhibitor you may photograph and film your own stand, your team and your products without a permit. A professional crew enters on exhibitor or contractor badges that you register through the organiser's portal, or on a media badge where the organiser offers one. Tripods, lights, sliders and gimbals are fine inside your stand footprint; the aisles stay clear, because aisles are fire routes and the floor managers enforce it. A light stand with one leg in the aisle will be asked to move. Everything in this guide is subject to the exhibitor manual of your specific show, which we read before the day.

Badges: which one the crew needs

• Contractor badge for build-up and breakdown days. Needed if you want the finished stand photographed at handover the day before opening.
• Exhibitor badge for show days. It allows entry about an hour before the public doors, which is when the clean set is shot. Register the crew's names exactly as on their ID.
• Media accreditation where the organiser offers it. It grants positions at keynotes, press conferences and, at some shows, along the opening walkthrough. Applications close one to three weeks before the show, so this is decided at booking.

A crew with the wrong badge spends the first hour at the registration desk instead of on your stand. The DWTC venue guide and the Expo City guide explain where registration is at each venue.

Other stands and visitors

Other exhibitors' stands and products are not filmed without asking. A wide shot of the hall with other stands in the background is normal; a close-up of a competitor's product or a pan along a neighbour's graphics is not, and floor managers act on complaints. Visitors who appear recognisably and centrally in a picture are asked for consent where required; wide hall shots and crowd atmosphere are not a problem. A visitor who declines is not photographed, and the crew does not argue. Children are not filmed without a guardian's consent, which matters at education and consumer shows. Your own stand team should know they are being photographed; a two-line note in the stand briefing covers it.

Conference halls, stages and keynotes

Several organisers restrict photography in conference and stage areas or reserve it for accredited media; the exhibitor manual says which. Where it is allowed, the usual conditions are: no flash, positions at the back or sides, no tripods in the aisles, and no recording of the full session for publication. If your own executive speaks, the organiser will often grant a position to one photographer on request, and some shows provide their own stage photography that you may use. Your own stand stage is yours: two angles, your own light, no restriction. See conference photography for how keynote coverage is planned.

Equipment: what is allowed where

• Tripods and light stands: inside your footprint, never in the aisle.
• Continuous light: fine on your stand. Flash is tolerated for portraits but not aimed at neighbours or at a stage.
• Gimbals and handheld rigs: fine anywhere a visitor may walk, used considerately in crowds.
• Drones: not flown inside the halls or over either venue. Exterior drone work anywhere in Dubai needs separate permits and sits outside a stand booking.
• Wireless microphones: fine on your stand for interviews.
• Ladders: only during build-up on contractor badges, and only inside the footprint.

Exteriors and Expo City's outdoor spaces

Exterior shots of signage and the venue entrance are fine from public areas. At DWTC the frontage faces Sheikh Zayed Road and the best light is before 08:30 or after sunset; midday is harsh and hot. Expo City has more to offer outside: the plazas, the Al Wasl dome and the concourses between the halls are good for team photographs and for a vertical walk-in clip, and there is shade. Security may ask what you are filming; a badge and a polite answer are enough. Government buildings, security posts and airports anywhere in the UAE are not photographed as a rule.

Show-specific sensitivities, and a short pre-show check

Some shows add rules. Defence shows such as IDEX and NAVDEX at ADNEC restrict photography of certain equipment and of military delegations without clearance; the ADNEC guide covers the venue. Healthcare shows such as Arab Health are strict about patients and clinical demonstrations on other stands. Any show with a royal or ministerial opening has a protocol route where the crew stands only where told; the VIP visit guide explains how to get the picture anyway.

Before every show we check five things: the exhibitor manual's photography section, the badge types registered, media accreditation deadlines, the stage policy if an executive speaks, and the hall opening time for exhibitors. That check takes ten minutes and prevents most of the problems in this guide.