The Big 5, the largest and most influential construction industry event in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA), lived up to its name for its 2022 edition recording a strong bounce back in global attendance with over 65,000 industry professionals from 150 countries filling the Dubai World Trade Centre for a mega event that featured product innovations, high-level summits, industry talks, start-up competitions and more. 

The four-day event, which ran from 5-8 December 2022, generated US$766 million in onsite declared business with its 2,000 exhibitors anticipating a further US$2.7bn over the next 12 months.

And the 43rd edition of the Big 5 attracted high-profile government support throughout following its opening by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Media Council, alongside His Excellency Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. Other government leaders attending the four-day event included His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management. A number of delegates from Dubai Municipality, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and Dubai’s General Directorate of Civil Defense were also in attendance.

“This year’s event was an impressive gathering of the global construction community here in Dubai - the heart of MEASA region, exploring the enormous and fast-growing opportunities for the sector. We are also humbled by the solid government support we received for the event this year, which is a true testament to the importance of the sector for economic growth,” said Josine Heijmans, Vice President - Construction at BIG 5 Global, which is organized by dmg events. “The programme of powerful discussions, keynotes, and impressive innovation underlined the transformation driving the sector and saw an industry coming together to make meaningful connections, find valuable leads, and get access to premium content. The result is the event has now returned to pre-pandemic levels, and with international players keenly eyeing the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia markets, we are rebranding the event into the BIG 5 Global to reflect its expanding footprint.”  

The impressive turnout underlined the event’s ability to span the sector’s entire ecosystem addressing key sector challenges, pushing technology adoption, promoting sustainability, and providing start-up support. Big 5 2022 featured eight major product segments and six specialized events that hosted a combined 20 national pavilions, including newcomers Oman, Pakistan, and Singapore. The co-located exhibitions and specialized events included The Big 5 Heavy; Middle East Concrete; Middle East Stone; HVAC R Expo, the Urban Design & Landscape Expo and FM Expo for the facilities management segment. Alongside the six specialized construction events, Everything Architecture was launched, consisting of innovative and inspiring products, materials, and services transforming the world’s architectural and design sectors. Exclusively created for architects, designers, specifiers, and property developers, the inaugural event drew an audience of 1,700 industry professionals.

The Global Construction Leaders' Summit brought together some of the most well-known thought leaders in the sector, with notable participation from Headline Sponsor ROSHN, Saudi Arabia’s national real estate developer powered by the Public Investment Fund, Etihad Rail as the Summit's Official Infrastructure Sponsor, and Silver Sponsor Diriyah Gate Development Authority, also based out of Saudi Arabia. On the speaker platform, representatives of these and other top organisations from the public and commercial sectors have spoken on problems and chances that exist in the region, such as collaboration and future-proofing industry growth. .

New to the event was the Global Construction Impact Summit, which saw disruptive thinkers, innovators, and ESG advisors assess the construction ecosystem and collaborate on how to support the achievement of ambitious regional net-zero targets. Coming back for its second edition was the Construction Impact Awards which championed the best in sustainable development, technology, and digital achievements.  The FutureTech Construction Summit progressed actionable learnings reimagining the sector’s future via technological acceleration, while Start-up City saw international disruptors demo transformative solutions. Digital Construction World was a centralized technology hub for management software, virtualization, information and data science, geospatial, unmanned and robotics, 3D printing, Artificial Intelligence, and wearables. Big 5 Industry Talks focused on ten themes, including Concrete, Facilities Management, Geotechnical & Engineering, HVAC R, Offsite & Modular, Project Management, Solar, Stone Design, Technology and Urban Design & Landscape.

BIG 5 Global 2023 will run at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 4-7 December 2023 across eight dedicated show sectors, and eight specialized events instead of six as the biennial Window, Door & Facades, and Gulf Glass come back after their last showing in 2021. 

“We can only see the event growing in attendance, business delivery, and geographic influence as the industry continues its efforts to address challenges, including its journey to net zero,” added Heijmans  “We will continue to work closely with the industry and government to ensure the 2023 event reflects the sector’s pressing needs and concerns and continues its standing as a results-based forum with insightful content that helps guide the transformation process.”