Antoni Gerges
Capacity Middle East · e& galas at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, and Atlantis, The Palm

Capacity Middle East

7 March 2018 · The Pavilion, Armani Hotel Burj Khalifa Film by Etisalat UAE
6 March 2019 · Nasimi Beach Atlantis, The Palm Event film · made for Etisalat
The project

Etisalat’s gala dinner for its carrier partners, two years running. For 2018 I gave the night its idea, its artwork and its stage films.

Won by tendertwo years running, 2018 and 2019
Two landmarksBurj Khalifa, then Atlantis, The Palm
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The dinner

Each March, during the Capacity Middle East telecom congress in Dubai, Etisalat’s Carrier & Wholesale arm hosts a private dinner for the international carriers it works with. Etisalat is now e&.

The idea, 2018

The invitation set the line: “An evening to celebrate our partnership.” The key visual answered: “Celebrating new partnerships & old connections.”

Both drew Etisalat’s mark as points of light joined into orbits, over Dubai drawn as one line.

The screens, 2018

The stage brief came to me by name on 1 March 2018, six days before the dinner. Nine films for the main screen, one for each moment of the night; two square films for the side walls; three stage plates. An animator made them under my direction.

The beach, 2019

A year later the dinner moved to Nasimi Beach, Atlantis, The Palm. The film at the top of this page is Etisalat’s event film of that night.

With MCX

Both nights were won and produced by MCX, where I was Partner, Creative Director & Co-producer, through AntBrush.

This page

The 3D is made for this portfolio from the invitation’s own drawing; the films are as delivered. The invitation’s date line reads 2017, a slip in the artwork: the dinner was on Wednesday 7 March 2018. The 2023 design at the end is a proposal; it was not built.

01 · The idea · the invitation, the city, the stage 3D model · made for this portfolio
01 · The idea

Points of light.
One mark.

Built here from the 2018 invitation’s own drawing, and the films delivered for the stage.

01 / 03

Points that join

“An evening to celebrate our partnership.” The invitation drew Etisalat’s mark as points of light, joined into orbits.

02 / 03

The city, in one line

Two square walls beside the stage. On each, Dubai draws itself as a single line, mirrored, growing outward.

03 / 03

A film for each moment

One film for each moment of the night, from the fountain to the draw. The last closed on the line: celebrating new partnerships & old connections.

Delivered for the stage9 films · 2 side films
The 2018 invitation: on a night sky, Etisalat’s mark drawn as three orbits with points of light on them, above the Dubai skyline; the line An evening to celebrate our partnership; the Etisalat logo in English
Printed · the invitationA3 · 26 February 2018
02 · The stage

One terrace,
two stages.

The terrace of The Pavilion, beside the Dubai Fountain, nine days before the dinner. Then two stage designs for it: cells of screen in green rims, and towers of light tiles. Renders, 2018.

Photograph: the empty stone terrace of The Pavilion in daylight, the towers of Downtown Dubai beyond
The terracePhotograph, 26 February 2018.
Render: a stage of screens shaped like cells, each in a bright green rim, showing a starry sky, the line Celebrating New Partnerships and Old Connections, and the Etisalat mark; etisalat on the stage front
Cells of screenStage design · render.
Render: a black main screen with the Etisalat logo between towers of white and green light tiles, a curved stage with lit steps
Towers of lightStage design · render.
The towers of light drawn onto the photograph of the terrace, the lake and Downtown Dubai behind
On the terraceThe towers, on the site photograph.
03 · 2019

The same words,
at the beach.

A year later the dinner moved to Nasimi Beach, Atlantis, The Palm. The sign at the arrival carried the 2018 line again: an evening to celebrate our partnership.

A frame of the event film: a performer in a red hat beside the directional sign, Capacity Middle East Gala Dinner 2019, An evening to celebrate our partnership
The signA frame of the event film.
Photograph at night: the arrival arch, Welcome to Capacity Middle East Gala 2019, guests walking in under purple light
The arrivalPhotograph, 6 March 2019.
A frame of the event film: drummers with lit drums walk past giant lit letters, etisalat, on the sand
The lit nameA frame of the event film.
Photograph at night: the full room of tables, the stage under beams of light, the lit letters etisalat in front of it
The roomPhotograph, 6 March 2019.
04 · Proposal, 2023

Asked back:
a proposal.

Proposal · not built

In 2023 e& asked AntBrush, my agency, to bid for the dinner. Its new mark completed the name, Capacity Me&, and one walk led from the waterfront gate to the stage. We drew it two ways.

The walk3D film of the proposal, option A.
Proposal key visual: a purple world map with tiles of city pictures, a 3D e& mark, the line Big network … smart world, and the Capacity Me& logo
Big network … smart worldKey visual of the proposal.
Proposal render, option B: a gate of two timber towers joined by a black beam with the e& mark, a walkway with red ropes
Option BThe gate in timber · render.
Proposal render, option A: a welcome desk under a sloping black and purple wall, Big network smart world, with the Capacity Me& logo and a red e&
Option AThe welcome desk · render.

The result.

05 · The result
Two years runningwon by tender: the dinner at the Burj Khalifa in 2018, then at Atlantis, The Palm in 2019
More figures
9films for the 2018 main screen, one for each moment of the night
2square films for the side walls, one the mirror of the other
3stage plates at the shape of the stage screen
2designs on one walk, for 2023. A proposal, not built

Dates and venues: the running orders of 2 March 2018 and 3 March 2019. Tender: the win of 25 February 2018 and the confirmation of 26 February 2019. Films and plates: the delivered files of 7 March 2018. 2023: the proposal deck and the bid of January 2023.

RoleAntoni Gerges
Creative Director, Brand & Experiential
WithMCX: Partner, Creative Director & Co-producer. Partner venture, through AntBrush, for live entertainment and corporate events.
ForEtisalat, now e&: the Carrier & Wholesale gala dinner, during Capacity Middle East, Dubai.
The films and the model2018 stage films made under my direction. 2018 film of the night by Etisalat UAE. 2019 event film made for Etisalat. The 3D is made for this portfolio from the 2018 invitation.
More workAll work