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Tariq Al-Mansouri

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  • BRIDGE Summit 2026 is a major Abu Dhabi media and content event positioned as a global meeting point for creators, brands, investors, and policymakers.

  • The summit is scheduled for November 28 to December 2, 2026, and will take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

  • It is designed as both a conference and an exhibition, so attendees can expect keynotes, panels, networking, and business opportunities.

  • For Abu Dhabi, the event reinforces its role as a regional business hub for media, innovation, and the creator economy.

BRIDGE 2025 was a large debut media-and-content summit in Abu Dhabi that functioned as both a conference and exhibition for the broader media, creator economy, music, gaming, technology, marketing, and film ecosystem. It was held at ADNEC from December 8–10, 2025, and its organizers framed it as a long-term platform for building a global media hub in the UAE.

What happened in 2025

The event’s headline themes were AI, creator monetization, media credibility, and cross-border dealmaking. Coverage from the opening day said the summit mixed keynote talks, hands-on sessions, and partnership-building, with discussions around how AI is changing storytelling, how creators get paid, and how media organizations rebuild trust.

The summit also emphasized business outcomes, not just panels: organizers and reports described it as a marketplace for MoUs, studio deals, investment, and partnerships across the content economy.

Biggest speakers, Attendance and Scale

Among the most visible names reported around BRIDGE 2025 were Idris Elba, Gary Vaynerchuk, Alexis Ohanian, and Priyanka Chopra. Idris Elba got notable attention for discussing African creators, financial barriers to payment, and his creator platform Akunna.

Other heavily promoted high-profile participants included former UK cabinet ministers and global media CEOs.

Attendance figures vary by source because some numbers were updated before and after the event. Pre-event reporting projected about 60,000 participants from 132 countries and 430 speakers, while post-event coverage said the debut edition drew more than 40,000 participants from 182 countries, with 1,276 business meetings and 48 agreements/partnerships reported in one follow-up summary.

BRIDGE 2025 was a very large first edition, with tens of thousands of attendees, 400+ speakers, and a strong business-and-networking component.

BRIDGE Summit 2026

The Company behind it

The summit is driven by the BRIDGE ecosystem, closely tied to the UAE’s National Media Office and the broader BRIDGE Alliance. Public descriptions say BRIDGE Summit is a first-of-its-kind event that combines a conference and exhibition for media and entertainment industries, while the National Media Authority also describes it as a platform bringing together media experts, innovators, CEOs, policymakers, and thought leaders.

In practical terms, the “company behind” it is best understood as a government-backed media platform rather than a private trade show brand. That matters because it gives the event policy weight, access to major institutions, and a strategy-oriented positioning inside Abu Dhabi’s broader economic agenda.

The second edition is confirmed for November 28 to December 2, 2026, and it is moving from ADNEC to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Organizers said the expansion to five days is meant to support bigger exhibitions, more programming, and deeper business engagement.

As of the latest available information, no full named speaker roster appears to be publicly fixed yet, but the 2026 program is already expected to keep the same seven core sectors: media, creator economy, technology and artificial intelligence, marketing, gaming, music, and filmmaking.

What visitors will find at BRIDGE Summit this year

People attending BRIDGE will likely find keynote talks, panel discussions, workshops, exhibitor zones, networking sessions, and structured business meetings. The event is designed to be more than a stage program; it is built as a deal-making environment where creators, media companies, investors, agencies, and technology providers can meet directly.

For someone interested in media intelligence or brand building, that mix is valuable because it combines thought leadership with commercial access to decision-makers, production partners, and distribution channels.

BRIDGE is part of Abu Dhabi’s effort to position itself as a serious business and media hub, not just a regional conference destination. The event’s scale, government backing, and relocation to Yas Island all signal an attempt to build a durable ecosystem around media, creative industries, and investment attraction.

That positioning also fits Abu Dhabi’s broader playbook: use major institutional events to attract global talent, capital, and strategic partnerships into the emirate.

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  • Abu Dhabi, BRIDGE Summit, Events, Media, UAE

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The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable iPhone, and it opens like a small book into a 7.6-inch screen. Closed, you hold a 5.4-inch outer display that fits in a pocket. Both screens share the same aspect ratio, so a video or app scales cleanly as you move between them. Stand it up on a table, and it works hands-free for calls or video. Apple showed the phone on September 9 at its Surprise and Shine event in Cupertino, where new chief executive John Ternus led his first keynote. He said rival foldables often feel like two phones stuck together. The Duo tries to feel like one device that changes size when you need it.

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Open the Duo and the inner display runs 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max. A custom nano-texture finish cuts glare and hides the crease, the seam that has annoyed foldable owners for years. Peak brightness reaches 3000 nits, so the screen stays readable outdoors. Inside, an under-display FaceTime camera keeps the view whole, with no notch breaking the screen. The rear camera leans on a 48MP Dual Fusion system with a main and an ultra-wide lens. There is no telephoto, a trade Apple made to save room in the thin body. Smart Take reads the scene and snaps the photo when everyone poses, so you can stand in the shot instead of behind it. You can also shoot 48MP photos and 4K video at up to 120 frames per second.

iPhone Duo specs that matter for daily use

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iPhone Duo prices are ridiculously high

Here is the part your wallet cares about. The iPhone Duo price starts at $1,999 for 256GB in the United States, which makes it the most expensive iPhone in the lineup. In the UAE, iPhone Duo starts at AED 8,499 for the 256 GB, AED 9,349 for the 512 GB, AED 11,049 for the 1 TB, and the laptop-price level of AED 13,599 for the 2 TB. Preorders open October 16, and the iPhone Duo release date lands on October 23. Apple plans a first wave across more than 70 countries, then adds 28 more on October 30. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts near $1,899.

Why the foldable iPhone arrives only now

Apple waited years while Samsung and others sold foldables. Now the foldable iPhone brings iOS 27 features built for two screens, like Split View and apps that respond to how you hold the phone. eSIM handles the connection, since there is no SIM tray anywhere. Apple Pencil support arrives later in 2026. That gap of a few weeks after the iPhone 18 Pro points to a slower, careful rollout for a harder build. If you have wanted a phone that turns into a small tablet without feeling clumsy, this is Apple’s answer, and you can hold one this month.

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Work from Park initiative
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The Work from Park initiative puts bookable workspaces inside Dubai’s public parks, starting with Al Barsha Pond Park. Dubai Municipality announced the programme on 19 April 2026 and said it had signed two memoranda of cooperation to deliver it. One went to Group AMANA, which builds the units, and the other to Letswork LLC, which operates them.

Entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises

The structure is a public-private partnership. Dubai Municipality provides the park and the mandate. Private firms handle design, construction, and daily operation. The municipality said the model gives the private sector a route into public facilities while each site keeps its role as a park.

Target users are entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and anyone doing remote work in Dubai. Content creators get dedicated production rooms, which the municipality said are meant to strengthen their place in the emirate’s creative economy.

Letswork runs the booking side. Users reserve space through the Letswork app, check in on arrival and use one membership across the company’s network of venues. The offer covers desks by the hour, event space, podcast recording and production rooms for creators. Letswork will also run training programmes and group sessions for creative talent and new businesses.

How the Work from Park initiative is built

Group AMANA delivers the first site through its DuBox unit. DuBox builds the workspace modules in a factory, then transports them to the park and assembles them on site. The municipality said this shortens the build schedule, reduces waste and lowers the environmental footprint compared with conventional construction. Units can be reconfigured later as demand shifts.

The Al Barsha Pond Park site was scheduled to open in May 2026. Letswork now lists it as a bookable venue on its platform. The listing describes modular pods with high-speed Wi-Fi, power and climate-controlled seating, plus podcast studios and creative production rooms. Members can book day passes, meeting rooms and private offices under one Letswork membership.

Dubai Municipality said the Work from Park initiative would add more sites across the emirate later in 2026. Locations and opening dates for those have yet to be confirmed.

Bader Anwahi, CEO of the Public Facilities Agency at Dubai Municipality, said the partnerships combine advanced construction methods with private sector expertise to produce public infrastructure “that is flexible, sustainable, and aligned with modern lifestyles and work patterns.”

Richard Abboud, CEO of Group AMANA, said modular construction lets the company build efficient, adaptable units at speed.

Why the Work from Park initiative fits Dubai’s planning goals

The programme sits under three policy frameworks. Dubai’s 2040 Parks and Greenery Strategy targets 95 million park visits a year by 2040. Land use falls under the Dubai Urban Plan 2040. Economic targets through 2033 come from the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.

Omar AlMheiri, co-founder of Letswork, said the partnership would add dedicated creative spaces and podcast studios. He described it as a step toward changing where and how people in the UAE do flexible work.

Dubai Municipality describes the Work from Park initiative as the first of its kind. Existing Dubai coworking spaces operate from office towers, hotels and retail sites. This programme moves the format onto municipal parkland, with the municipality as host and a private platform as operator.

Outdoor workspaces in Dubai face one obvious constraint: summer heat. The Letswork listing addresses this with climate-controlled seating inside the pods. Demand across a full year of operation will show whether the format holds. The second site, once announced, will be the next signal of how fast the municipality intends to scale.

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