Equity Magazine July 2017 Issue

ENTREPRENEUR
help at the Westlife press conference
in Lebanon. I managed it and thought
that’s easy and fun, I want to do
more.” Few months down the line and
Thomas saw himself slowly losing
interest in air traffic control, and
gravitating towards hosting events.
At that point in time, Dubai was an
exciting hub, the treat he would get
occasionally for a business meeting and
Thomas couldn’t get enough of the
nocturnal scene here. “It was a city
where if you were willing to work hard,
you could make something happen.
There was also a social and nightlife
scene but there weren’t many concerts.
That’s when I thought, why not go to
Dubai and do it on a larger scale?”
In 2000, the journey began, setting up
an office to host and promote shows
that mainly catered to western expats.
Has-beens and artists that were looking
to make a bit of retirement money were
the only ones that arrived in the Middle
East, as most people’s notion was that it
was a troublesome region. And even then, most
concerts took place either in hotel ballrooms and
gardens. “The first concert that we (Meraas
Promotions) held here was the British singer
Gabrielle and it was at the old Jumeirah Beach
Club. I remember it was one of those events where
suddenly the permission was revoked as it became
a dry night and we had to postpone it to the next
day and persuade her to stay,” he tells us.
“Elements like the ticketing system were obviously
less sophisticated back then and the team had to
make sure everyone was aware that it was
postponed and then suddenly it became a sell-out
event as all the others couldn’t cancel or prepone.
Those days a sell-out event was 3,000 people.”
Another fond memory is when Geri Halliwell
began touring by herself after breaking away from
the Spice Girls.
Natural progression led Thomas to launching
AEG Live Middle East followed by a deal with Arab
Media Group where he took over Done Events.
Most recently, Al Ahli built a venue and in December
2016, 117 Live was launched with Nikki Minaj being
the first concert from the brand. With every business
arrives a few unsolicited challenges and Thomas
recalls encounters with international talents quite
distinctly. “Getting the artists to work with you in the
beginning is a bit of a challenge, as most of the artists
thought it was a troublesome area to visit. Luckily, the
owner at Meraas conducted events for many years, so
that’s how we got around it.”
The industry, according to Thomas, is
straightforward. “If you pay your dues, people will
work with you. The best way to establish a good
relationship is when you lose money and you still pay
JUSTIN BIEBER. MAY 6, 2017.
AUTISM ROCKS ARENA DUBAI
FLO RIDA AT AUTISM ROCKS FEST.
APRIL 1 2016 AT DUBAI AUTISM ROCKS ARENA
what you owe,” he says. Unfortunately,
the team had a few events that ran at a
loss, however, bill payments allowed
them to stand out from counterparts.
Locally, the events business isn’t
legislated or governed, in the way the
financial industry is. “Many times, you
make up the standards and I always
followed the British live events
standards, so if there was ever to be
any legislation I knew we would meet
that and surpass the requirements,”
says Thomas.
Having met the crème de la crème,
Thomas tells us he also got to play
manager at a certain point in time. “I
was lucky enough to work with
Destiny’s Child and was appointed
Beyonce’s agent for a matter of months, when her
father – also her manager – wanted to see the
business they could gain in less-developed markets
like Africa and the Middle East,” he tells us. For an
individual who switched fields without any
schooling or prior work in the industry, to
transpire to managing clients such as Queen Bey,
BRYAN ADAMS,
NOVEMBER
10 2016 AT
DUBAI AUTISM
ROCKS ARENA
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EQUITY