BRIDGE Summit to host 430 speakers, 1,200 CEOs and 5,000 media professionals from across the globe

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

BRIDGE Summit 2025, the world’s largest debut media event, announced its expanded participation figures during a gathering with more than 100 content creators.

Led by Abdulla Bin Mohammed Bin Butti Al Hamed, Chairman of BRIDGE, and Dr Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Vice Chairman of BRIDGE, outlined the Summit’s programme, technology initiatives and global partnerships in the lead-up to its inaugural edition this December.

The Summit will welcome 60,000 participants from 132 countries, bringing together 430 speakers from 45 countries, 1,200 CEOs from global media, technology and entertainment firms, 260 local and international advertising agencies and nearly 5,000 media professionals. This gathering reflects the demand for a unified global platform that advances the business, creativity and future of the content and entertainment economy.

A top official with participants during the event.

Venue and core tracks Spanning 1.65 million square feet at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), BRIDGE Summit 2025 is the world's largest debut media event. The Summit will run from Dec.8 to 10 across the entire venue, featuring seven tracks that define the architecture of the global content economy: Media, Creator Economy, Music, Gaming, Technology, Marketing and Picture.

These tracks have been designed not as isolated sectors, but as an interconnected system reflecting how creativity, technology, platforms, audiences and industries now operate across global markets.

Strategic vision: Remarks by Abdullah Al Hamed

Abdullah Al Hamed affirmed that the UAE recognised early on that the media is a fundamental pillar of sustainable development and a platform for building thought, strengthening dialogue, and promoting the values of responsible freedom. For this reason, the UAE invested heavily in developing an advanced media infrastructure that reinforces professionalism and innovation, positioning the country as a global model for progressive media; capable of meeting the challenges of the age, advancing the creative economy, and generating a lasting positive impact on societies.

A top official speaks during the event.

He added that the BRIDGE Summit embodies this vision in practice by creating a global platform that promotes diversity and inclusion, supports innovation across every pillar of the media industry, and enables content creators, professionals, and journalists to acquire new tools to shape the future of media in a way that ensures its sustainability and enhances its positive influence on humanity.

His Excellency continued: “We launch BRIDGE from the UAE not merely to keep pace with global shifts in media, content, and entertainment, but to play an active role in shaping the future of the knowledge economy. Real power today is not formed within a single sector, but at the intersection of media, technology, and creativity. From these intersections emerge the most influential transformations in the media economy. That is why BRIDGE was designed as a practical ecosystem that builds bridges between institutions, investors, creators, and technology companies - turning these connections into opportunities, partnerships, and new business models that support the growth of the global creative industries.”

Building the future: Remarks by Jamal Al Kaabi

Dr Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Vice Chairman of BRIDGE, highlighted the Summit’s structural design and its role in shaping the future of the global content ecosystem.

“We didn’t choose these tracks simply because they represent sectors, but because they reflect the actual system that drives global impact. Today, we no longer live in a world of isolated industries. Songs are built on data, films spread through algorithms, platforms create stardom, games build communities and influencers drive economies.”

He added: “These tracks are not labels. They form the backbone of shaping the future. They reflect who creates the idea, builds the tech, shapes the audience, drives the impact and creates content that earns our trust today. They also show how all of this can lead to a sustainable economy. That is why we aimed to create seven points of connection that work as one system: for developers to build tools for journalists; for musicians to think like content creators; for gaming to intersect with storytelling, art and marketing; for marketers to understand platform dynamics before launching campaigns; and for media to rebuild its story through the logic of the audience.”