Doors are set to open this month on the first Gulf International Exhibition for Building and Interior Design (gulfBID 2006), which has just received Royal patronage, further elevating its stature as the premier and largest event for building and interior design in the northern Gulf.

gulfBID 2006 – which is 95 per cent sold out – will be held under the patronage of Bahrain’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre from May 16 to 18.
“HH the Prime Minister has agreed to host the event under his patronage,” says Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Court.
The event has attracted significant interest from regional and international exhibitors, with more than 120 companies from all around the world having signed up space.
The exhibition is being jointly organised by dmg world media and Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE).
According to HCE general manager Abdulla Shafeea, almost all spaces have been sold out, with extensive demand from all around the world. “We are introducing the region’s biggest construction and interior design for the northern Gulf states,” he remarks.
“We are seeing a strategic shift in the exhibitions and convention sector into the northern Gulf underpinned by strong growth across the Middle East. Increasingly, Bahrain is re-emerging as a leading exhibition and conference hub for the region in parallel to Dubai. Importantly, with the heightened activity in building, construction and interior design taking place in Bahrain as well as Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, Kuwait and Qatar, gulfBID is well set to establish itself as the key exhibition platform for Bahrain, the Eastern Province and the northern Gulf,” says Shafeea.
dmg is the organiser of Big 5 and Index, the region’s largest construction and interior design exhibitions, being held in Dubai in November.
dmg world media dubai managing director Bernard Walsh says that gulfBID will be based on those exhibitions and is eventually expected to become the third largest industry event in the region. “We are beginning by using only one hall, but we expect the exhibition to grow rapidly every year,” he says.
dmg is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Britain’s Daily Mail & General Trust.
The gulfBID event will provide a platform for a wide range of products serving the construction sector, including building materials, heating and cooling technologies, water technologies and environment, flooring, cleaning and maintenance, glass and aluminium, roofing and cladding, real estate and architecture and engineering.
It will also feature interior design products and services including furniture, fabrics, wall coverings, lighting, bathrooms and kitchens, artworks and accessories as well as marble and stonework.
In addition to Gulf exhibitors, organisers have also received bookings from companies from the UK, Korea, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Germany, Spain and Italy.
gulfBID is targeting the northern Gulf’s building and interiors market and in addition to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, the exhibition has a strong potential to service the Iraqi and Iranian markets.
As the show is targeted at professionals, the business community and trade visitors, Shafeea is confident there will be strong visitor delegations from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, reflecting the strength of the event and its importance to the building and interiors sector at a time of intense construction activity, procurement and project development on key developments in Bahrain as well as across the region.