Following the announcement of the integration between Flash Entertainment (Flash) and Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management (ADMM) in May last year, Ethara has announced its record year for attendance across events.

More than 1.3 million fans attended events throughout 2023 that the organisation has delivered at venues it operates.

With more than 100 events across the iconic Yas Island venues, Ethara operates – Etihad Arena, Yas Marina Circuit, Etihad Park and Yas Conference Centre – the region’s leading event and venue management operator saw its landmark launch year conclude in style.

The integration of the two organisations aimed to set a new benchmark in the events and entertainment industry in the Middle East and beyond. Leveraging its history of 15 years in the region, Ethara said it combined the expertise and experience of two established companies to deliver unrivalled experiences for fans.

Since its launch in May, the UAE-born company has hosted some of the region’s standout events and moments this year, with the historic 15th edition of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend alongside several milestone events including the Yasalam After-Race Concerts, the region’s first World Supercross Championship race in the WSX Abu Dhabi GP, as well as playing a significant role in managing various aspects of COP28, the international climate summit held at Expo City Dubai.

Saif Rashid Al Noaimi, CEO of Ethara commented: “It has been a meteoric rise for Ethara in our launch year, making local and international headlines across its portfolio of events in 2023.

“Since we completed the integration of ADMM and Flash back in May, our organisation and its award-winning team has gone from strength to strength, with over 700 event and venue management experts driving our thrilling events calendar across the year.

“There have been many highlights, and I’m delighted to see the results of the hard work that has been put in across the organisation, with much more to look forward to in 2024 and beyond. As a unified entity, Ethara has welcomed 17.3 million guests to our events and venues since 2009 – a truly remarkable achievement.”

With the UAE’s 2071 vision in mind, Ethara also engaged in key initiatives to support the next generation, with the STEM-learning focused Yas in Schools National Finals featuring over 1,000 students from across the UAE as well as a number of local sporting and academic initiatives at Yas Marina Circuit.

In 2023 alone, Ethara unveiled several unique new sustainability initiatives across its venues, notably achieving its FIA 3-Star Recertification ahead of the 15th edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, highlighting the company’s commitment to working with leading global entities in its Net Zero Goal by 2030.

With several new programmes including the all-new solar powered initiative set to commence in partnership with Masdar and Emerge in Q1 2024, Ethara brought new sustainably driven additions to the region’s events calendar including the new LED lighting system introduced to spectacular effect at the F1 finale in November to reduce energy usage by over 33% for the Abu Dhabi GP. 

Ethara’s venues are set to see further innovation going into the first full year of activity for the region’s leading event management and venue operator.

Alongside the company’s ever-growing team of regional experts in the events and venue management industry, the 300 plus-strong team at Ethara looks forward to kicking off its new region-wide strategic partnership with Oak View Group, the world’s biggest arena operator to transform the Middle East’s event and hospitality industry once more. – TradeArabia News Service