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The Big 5 Digital Festival has been awarded ‘Best Digital Event’ at the Middle East Event Awards 2021. Held virtually in 2020 as a special edition, The Big 5 Digital Festival was the first digital event in the 40+ years’ history of The Big 5, the largest and most influential event for the construction industry in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

The Middle East Event Awards 2021 recognises companies and individuals from the events industry for their exemplary efforts. The ‘Best Digital Event’ award was one of the newly introduced award categories with the aim to honour the contributions and strategies developed by organisers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Josine Heijmans, Vice President – Construction at dmg events commented:

“We are delighted to win the ‘Best Digital Event’ at the Middle East Event Awards, it is a fantastic recognition for the teams that worked so hard to deliver a great event for our exhibitors and visitors despite the circumstances.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Big 5 Digital Festival offered the global construction community a convenient platform to access leading-edge education, innovation, and business opportunities. With over 61,000 live chats and calls taking place over the 4 days, the event connected global construction players from 127 countries on a purpose-built platform powered by an AI-based matchmaking software.

Heijmans added:

“As event organisers, we had to quickly adapt and find viable solutions to continue accomplishing our mission of connecting and supporting the construction community despite travel restrictions, lockdowns, and physical distancing. This award, coupled with visitor and exhibitor feedback, is further motivation for us to continue developing innovative solutions that drive global business and trade.”

The Big 5 will return from 12-15 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre and will be the only live in-person global construction event in 2021. Set to support economic growth and recovery, the event will feature enhanced health and safety measures to ensure all participants can meet, network, and do business in a safe environment.

The Big 5 2021 will run alongside 9 specialised events including The Big 5 Heavy, Middle East Concrete, Windows, Doors & Facades Event, Gulf Glass, HVAC R Expo, The Big 5 Solar, Middle East Stone, Urban Design & Landscape Expo and FM Expo.

To know more about The Big 5, visit