After 27 years in the Middle East, The Talent Brokers (TTB) has begun to aggressively develop Abu Dhabi as an international live entertainment market, and estimates its efforts will require between $10million (€7.1m) to $15m (€10.6m) of hard-cost investment over the next five years before a return.

“We did the same with India, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Oman and Pakistan,” says TTB’s Padma Coram. “We were the very first ones to brave these territories and be willing to invest and wait – in some cases for years – to see the return. We get there before it becomes hip and make it hip.”

After 27 years in the Middle East, The Talent Brokers (TTB) has begun to aggressively develop Abu Dhabi as an international live entertainment market, and estimates its efforts will require between $10million (€7.1m) to $15m (€10.6m) of hard-cost investment over the next five years before a return.

Next month sees Bizet’s Carmen staged at the seven-star Emirates Palace Hotel (1,100-cap) from 8-11 November. It will be the third show that TTB has staged in Abu Dhabi this year, following on from Aida and Chicago. But it’s not just Western productions that are making in-roads: TTB’s sister company Event Solutions is now the largest producer of Arabic entertainment in the region.

“Seventy per cent of our business is now in the Arabic and Indian corporate sector” says TTB’s Richard Coram. “It’s why the Arab stars don’t do the traditional concert circuit that exists for Western stars; the singers are generally available and get lucrative offers to pay at private weddings or functions.”

In addition to building Abu Dhabi’s international market, and expanding ever further into India, Coram is also involved in long-term plans for the future of Dubai, although he can’t reveal any details.

“It’s been a fantastic year,” Coram says. “Some of the government contracts that we’re doing are very exciting. It’s not just about putting on a show that’s here today and gone tomorrow, we have a much bigger picture that we’re following through on.”