No. 02 · Middle East

The Middle
Chapter.

City
Dubai
Dates
March 2027
Format
Three Days
Status
Waitlist Open
OverviewSpeakersVenue
The season's middle act, under desert light. Three days: a boat party and registration to open, then two full days of conference at The Theater — Dubai's premier dinner-show venue.

Dubai is where the season widens out. The audience shifts. The conversation tilts east and south. And the sun sets early enough that we can build an entirely different schedule around it.

We open with a day on the water: a boat party and relaxed registration, so the room already knows each other before the first talk. Then two full days of conference — the longest edition of the season.

This is the most global edition: speakers and attendees arriving from India, the Gulf, East Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Europe, the UK. We're leaning into that. Fewer talks about the US market, more talks about the other five billion people.

The program, in broad strokes.

Subject to small adjustments — a conference is a living document. The shape holds.

Day One · Boat Party & Registration
15:00
Check-in Opens
Collect your badge, swag & playbill dockside
16:00
Set Sail
A private boat along the Dubai coastline
17:30
Golden Hour
Drinks, music & the skyline at sunset
19:00
Welcome Aboard
Informal opening words from the organisers
20:30
Back to Harbour
Dinner & first introductions on the marina
Day Two · Conference
10:00
Doors
Later start — the Gulf rhythm
10:45
Curtain Up
Opening remarks
11:00
Act I — The Global Index
Talks on search as a non-English phenomenon
12:30
Lunch
A long lunch · regional chef partnership
14:30
Act II — The Second Web
On the infrastructure behind the infrastructure
16:00
Intermission
Rooftop break · golden hour
16:30
Act III — Sunset Sessions
Talks timed to the sun going down
18:30
Closing Monologue
The day's last twelve minutes
21:00
Dinner
Waterfront, long table
Day Three · Conference
10:00
Doors
Coffee on the pier
10:30
Act IV — Workshops
Small-group sessions with Arabic & English tracks
13:00
Lunch
In the shaded courtyard
15:00
Act V — The Horizon
Closing talks & a look toward Prague
17:30
Standing Ovation
Final playbill · curtain call
22:00
Afterparty
A private rooftop overlooking Palm Jumeirah
✓ Reserved. We'll be in touch shortly.