A total of 1,900 companies from 50 countries will put on display their latest products and services to an anticipated audience of around 40,000 visitors, when the Big 5 show opens in Dubai next month (November 16 to 20).

A total of 30,000 sq m of exhibition space at the Dubai World Trade Centre has been booked for the show, which is recognised as the largest trade event for the construction industry in the Gulf.
This year apart from the eight halls, Sheikh Rashid Hall and a pavilion that last year’s event covered, additional space occupied will be the newly–built Marquee behind Hall 1, and the Al Multaqua hall.
The Big 5 was completely sold out six months prior to its opening date, according to the organiser, which speaks volumes of the immense worldwide popularity of this annual event. Attracting leaders in the construction industry around the world, the Big 5 will showcase the best and latest that the world has to offer to the region’s burgeoning building sector and architects, designers and contractors are already looking forward for the show.
Internationally acknowledged as the most important meeting place for the regional industry’s decision–makers, who have access to millions of dollars for the purchase of the latest technology, products and services, the show has attracted even greater demand for space this year.
There will be 28 national pavilions: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the UK.
“The Big 5 is, without doubt, the largest trade show for the construction industry in the Arabian Gulf. Over the years it has grown into a truly unique event, combining seven major exhibitions under one roof, and bringing the best global industry practices to the region,” says Bernard Walsh, managing director of dmg world media Dubai, the organiser of the event.
“Last year, we hosted 2,000 companies from 50 countries and attracted 34,000 key buyers and decision–makers from the public and private sector in addition to architects, engineers, contractors and other specifiers,” he adds.
The number of visitors increased by 24.3 per cent to 33,689 (up from 27,097 in 2003). Some 42 per cent of the registered visitors came from Dubai, 23 per cent from Abu Dhabi and the other emirates and 14 per cent from Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states. Visitors from other countries (20 per cent) included significant numbers from Egypt, India, Iran and Europe.
There were 1,644 (up from 1,313 in 2003) stands at the Big 5 exhibiting the products and services of 2,145 (1,732 – 2003) companies. These companies came from 54 (48 – 2003) countries and included 28 (25 – 2003) national and regional groups.
Showcasing building and construction, water technology and environment, air–conditioning and refrigeration, cleaning and maintenance, glass and metal, bathrooms ceramics and kitchens, marble and machinery, the Big 5 has the reputation of being the event where major business deals are concluded, generating business from the UAE, GCC and beyond.
One of the main reasons for the huge success of the show is the booming UAE market.
“Construction activity in the Middle East is currently running at its highest level for over 20 years,” says dmg media Dubai project manager Bob Hughes. “The Gulf countries have a young, ever–growing population, leading to massive housing requirements, and oil revenues continue to drive a construction boom in both the public and private sectors.
“The ongoing construction boom throughout the Gulf is the result of an extremely active public sector and the commitment of governments to develop and enhance their infrastructures, leading to the commissioning of hospitals, mosques, fire stations, tourism and educational facilities.
“The region’s public sector has budget allocations worth millions of dollars for infrastructure maintenance, including airports, hospitals, schools, streets and parks – for example, with desalination providing 80 per cent of the annual requirement, the UAE alone will spend in excess of  $7 billion over the next 25 years to develop its water resources, with a series of new plants planned or in development throughout the Emirates.
“Private sector development is even more ambitious, with the focus throughout the region firmly on hotels, leisure and commercial developments, shopping malls, apartment blocks, residential developments and office towers, as the growth and significance of the tourism trade continues at a rapid pace.
Against this backdrop, and with significant new developments announced throughout the region on a regular basis, the Big 5 show can rightfully claim to be the ideal meeting place for all those involved in the building and construction industry.
“The Big 5 has now become a must–visit international show that stands alongside the European shows, whether in terms of quality or in numbers. A lot of locals now come here for product rather than go anywhere else,” he adds.

Pavilions
The Big 5 features national pavilions from all of the world’s major exporting countries along with the most important local manufacturers, importers and distributors.
“Demand from governments all over the world for national pavilions is tremendous. Every country has a strong brand identity they wish to reinforce, for themselves and their products,” says Hughes.
Germany claimed the distinction of being the largest international group as well as hosting the largest national pavilion at the Big 5 Show 2004. Supported by the Federal Ministry of Economic and Labour and VDMA–German Engineering Federation, the number of German companies at the show was up from about 130 to 191 exhibitors.
“Trade relations between the UAE and the Federal Republic of Germany have significantly grown over the years and construction companies in the Middle East are very keen to do business with Germany,” said Boris Abadjieff of VDMA–German Engineering Federation, a non–profit association which represents the mostly small and medium–sized enterprises. “In 2003, the incoming orders from the Middle East increased by more than 50 per cent and, not surprisingly, the UAE was one of our most important export destinations with a 150-per cent increase of order income. The increasing number of exhibitors at the show is a clear indication of how serious our companies are about this region. That the Big 5 is the most important construction fair in the region is evident from the fact that it was entirely booked and, sadly for us, a lot of the German companies could not exhibit (at the 2004 event) due to the lack of space.”
Meanwhile, at the Italian pavilion, so great was the demand from Italian companies to exhibit at the show, that Dr Ferdinando Fiore, the Italian trade commissioner to the UAE, introduced an information stand with catalogues so that as many as 32 companies who were not able to showcase their products due to lack of space at the fair didn’t go unrepresented.
Italy followed close on the heels of the German representation as the second largest national pavilion. The Italian participation at the Big 5 show has increased year on year with the number of companies represented at the show having risen dramatically from 150 in 2003 to 222 last year. Exhibitors reported they were delighted with the overwhelming response they received to their participation.
Said Fiore. “Clearly, the high demand for building materials and construction technology makes the Middle East an ideal market for new suppliers and products. The Middle East in general and the UAE in particular is a very big market and Italian companies are very keen to do business in this part of the world.”
Another major pavilion was that hosted by the UK, which was the nation’s largest ever at the Big 5.
A total of 70 companies are represented over a total exhibition space of 1,000 sq m. “Given the level of support the show received, we could easily have doubled this figure if we could have had more space,” said Michael Ankers. association chief executive of the Construction Products Association (CPA), the UK Trade and Investment’s lead accredited trade organiser for the official UK group of exhibitors at the Big 5. The CPA, along with the Building Exhibitions Management (BEM), acts as a sponsor of UK Trade and Investment-funded exhibitions.
Among the British exhibitors was ACO International, which returned to the show for the 12th consecutive year and has seen the Big 5 grow from a local exhibition with around 100 or so companies over half a hall to the entire eight-plus halls it now takes up, according to Keith Lambourne, regional director – Asia and the Middle East. “The Big 5 is a showcase for the entire region and attracts visitors from all over the world. We have seen visitor numbers increase steadily over the years, and our stand has grown correspondingly, from around 18 sq m to 32 sq m,” said Lambourne.
Participating at the show for the first time last year was UK Mat Installations, whose managing director Harry Hilton reported that he was overwhelmed by the response received within the early hours of the show. “We’ve had phenomenal interest from people coming from Qatar, Oman, India and Lebanon, besides the large number of UAE visitors,” he said.
Austria too had its largest-ever participation at the exhibition with more than 30 companies taking up more than 600 sq m at the show.
The French contingent had a total of 39 exhibitors, up from 20 at the Big 5 in 2003, according to Jean-Francois Leborne, a spokesman for Ubifrance, the French Agency for International Business Development, which organises national pavilions at major exhibitions around the world.
Australia and New Zealand – which fielded six exhibitors in 1999 – brought in a total of 101 exhibitors during the 2004 show.
Having sold all the space available at least for the past couple of years, the organiser is looking forward to the expansion of the DWTC.
“The recently announced plans to develop a brand new exhibition venue for Dubai, with greatly increased capacity, means that the Big 5 will, in the not too distant future, have the opportunity to expand proportionately to the growth of the regional construction industry,” adds Walsh. “It has also been announced that in the interim period, the Dubai International Exhibition Centre will have an additional two halls available from 2006, allowing us to welcome more of the world’s leading construction industry companies to Dubai.”
Organised alongside the show are seminars that are reported to run to capacity.