How to plan stand content for GITEX Global

The 2026 timetable: one Summit day, four exhibition days

The week has two addresses. Monday 7 December is the GITEX Summit at Dubai World Trade Centre, where ministers and vendor leadership speak. From Tuesday 8 to Friday 11 December the exhibition runs at Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City, across the North and South halls and the pavilions between them. Ai Everything Global shares the full four days; Expand North Star and the Future Blockchain Summit run from 8 to 10 December under the same visitor pass.

If your leadership speaks at the Summit and your stand is at Expo City, one booking covers both: the Summit from permitted positions on the Monday, the stand from the Tuesday; the two sites are a long drive apart, so nothing is scheduled at both on the same morning. Expo City's hall numbers are new to everyone this year; the crew walks the venue during build-up. See the GITEX Global page for the current edition and how the two venues differ for exhibitors.

Exhibiting at GITEX this December? Three fixed coverage packages

GITEX Global 2026 opens with the Summit at Dubai World Trade Centre on 7 December and runs 8 to 11 December at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai, with Ai Everything, Expand North Star and Future Blockchain Summit on the same site. We have put together three fixed packages for GITEX stands: opening day, two days, or the full show, each with the clean-stand set before doors, team portraits, visitor and demo coverage, interviews with subtitles in English and Arabic, a recap film, vertical clips and same-day delivery. Opening Day AED 7,500, Two Days AED 13,900, Full Show AED 24,900, final prices. Crew allocations for 8 December are confirmed in booking order.

See the GITEX 2026 packages Free GITEX content checklist (PDF)

Why your own content matters more at GITEX than at any other show

GITEX lists around 6,800 exhibiting companies and more than 200,000 attendees. The press photographs the telcos, the government pavilions and the opening walkthrough; a 36-square-metre stand in the South halls appears in nobody's coverage unless the exhibitor produces it. The second reason is timing: a large share of visitors plan their next day the evening before, from LinkedIn and the show app. A post with a strong stand photograph on the evening of 8 December is seen by people who have not yet decided whether to walk to your hall on the 9th.

Technology stands also age badly in photographs: screens go to sleep, demo laptops show a lock screen, lanyards pile up on the counter. The clean set has to happen before the doors open on day one, when the graphics are fresh and the carpet is unmarked. The technology hub shows how this looks on finished stands.

Day by day: what to shoot and when

1. Monday 7 December, Summit at DWTC. Only if your leadership is on stage. Two angles from permitted positions, the speaker with the audience in frame, the handshake afterwards. Selects within the hour for the press release.
2. Tuesday 8 December, opening day. Crew on the stand about an hour before doors: clean set from the aisle and both corners, every screen at a matched shutter speed, team portraits against your own graphics. From 10:00, visitors and demos; the ministerial walkthrough passes the main halls on the opening morning and the crew stands where protocol allows. Interviews between 14:00 and 16:00, when the hall is quieter. First selects before 18:00, the set and the recap film the same evening.
3. Wednesday 9 December. Partner signings and announcements, each from two angles with the agreement and the handshake. Three to five vertical clips of the busiest demo, delivered during the day.
4. Thursday 10 December. Customer and partner interviews, a second recap cut if the stand has changed, Expand North Star founders if you run a startup programme.
5. Friday 11 December. A short block for the closing team photograph. Traffic is lighter and the stand looks tired; most of the value is captured by Thursday.

Screens, demos and the crowd

GITEX stands are LED walls and live demos, and both are easy to ruin. LED panels band at ordinary shutter speeds; the photographer matches shutter to panel on each wall, with your own content running rather than a holding slide. Every screen is shot twice: clean before opening and in use with a visitor's hands in frame. Demos are photographed from the visitor's side so the product on screen reads, not the back of a laptop. Your own stage gets two angles, one tight on the speaker and one wide with the audience and the brand.

The crowd is the story of GITEX. Wide shots from the aisle at 11:00 and again at 15:00 show scale; a recognisable face in the foreground is asked where required. The guide to photographing LED walls covers the technical side.

A worked example: a cybersecurity vendor in the North halls

A cybersecurity vendor with a 54-square-metre stand, two demo pods and a small stage books full coverage on 8 December and half days on 9 and 10 December. On the Tuesday the crew delivers the clean set and twelve team portraits by 10:30; the recap film, 60 seconds in 16:9 and 9:16, is uploaded by 21:00 and goes out the same evening. On the Wednesday a distribution agreement is signed at 11:00; selects reach the PR agency by 11:45 and the release goes out with pictures. On the Thursday the regional sales director and two customers record 45-second interviews with subtitles in English and Arabic for the follow-up mailings. Total: one photo set per day, one film, three interviews, nine vertical clips, all delivered before the show closes.

What goes wrong at GITEX, and the fix

• No accreditation for the opening walkthrough. Exhibitor badges do not grant access to the protocol route. Fix: apply for media accreditation where the organiser offers it, and brief the stand team to clear the front of the stand when the delegation approaches.
• Interviews that never happen. Leadership is in meetings all day. Fix: a fixed 20-minute slot per person on day two or three, early afternoon, in the calendar before the show.
• Banded screens. Fix: real content on every screen from 09:00, and the photographer meters each wall.
• Posting late. The film is approved on the Monday after. Fix: one approver who agrees the film the same evening.
• Distances at Expo City. The North and South halls are a long walk apart. Fix: sequence the day on the venue map during build-up.

What we need from you, and what you get

From you: show, hall and stand number; exhibitor or contractor badges for the crew; the names and roles of people to interview; any signing or VIP visit already in the calendar; and one approver reachable on WhatsApp during the show.

From us: the clean-stand set before doors, team portraits, visitor and demo coverage, interviews with lavalier microphones and subtitles in English and Arabic, a recap film in 16:9 and 9:16, vertical clips through the day, all delivered the same day by download link, with selects within the hour for press moments, two revision rounds and usage rights for your own channels. GITEX is the most requested week of the year; book six weeks ahead through the quote form, and see trade show video production for what a film booking includes.