EventNewsDXB

Mike Wain: Thriving & Surviving - Balancing Business & Well-Being

• W4 Podcast Studio • Season 1 • Episode 7

Share episode

EventNewsDXB Ep. 07 Mike Wain: Thriving & Surviving - Balancing Business & Well-Being

EventNewsDXB is supported by Warehouse Four - Dubai's best independent event venue.

Join host Ian Carless and seasoned event professional, Mike Wain, as he shares his insights on Dubai’s ever-evolving event industry and the challenges of entrepreneurship. 

It's a candid discussion that shed's light on the rise and fall of Mike's previous company, Action Impact and see's him advocate for stronger industry standards and pre-qualification processes to create a more sustainable business landscape.

The conversation also explores the mental health toll of the industry, with Mike emphasising the need for empathy, rest, and healthy client relationships. 

It's an engaging and honest discussion that provides valuable insights into the realities of building and sustaining a business in Dubai’s competitive events scene.

Podcast rundown

• Mike Wayne recounts his journey into Dubai's event industry. 
• Closing Action Impact and how COVID-19 reshaped event planning and engagement. 
• The importance of maintainng industry production standards.
• Exploration of the need for mental health awareness in the event industry.
• Insights into future trends and the sustainability of the events sector. 

Production Credits:

Presented by: Ian Carless
Studio Engineer & Editor: Roy D'Monte
Executive Producers: Ian Carless & Joe Morrison
Produced by: EventNewsDXB & W4 Podcast Studio

Support us!

It takes time and effort to put the EventNewsDXB podcast together and we hope it's worth something to you. If it is, please consider supporting us for as little as US$250 per month to keep the podcasts coming. Contact us for details.

Ian Carless:

Welcome to Event News DXB. Before we begin, I've got a quick favour to ask. There's one simple way that you can support our show, and that's by hitting that follow or subscribe button on the app you're listening to the show on right now. It really does make a huge difference in helping us get the show out there to as many people as possible. So please give us a hand and click that button right now. Thanks a bunch. Thanks a bunch. Event News DXB. You're listening to the Event News DXB podcast.

Ian Carless:

Your behind-the-scenes look into the world of events in Dubai, the UAE and the MENA region. I'm Ian Carlos and each week I'll be bringing you the latest news, industry trends and insider stories shaping one of the world's most dynamic event markets. From professional insights to Dubai's most inspiring success stories, we've got everything you need to stay ahead in the ever-evolving event industry. So, whether you're an event planner, a brand manager or just someone passionate about the power of events, you're in the right place.

Ian Carless:

This week, we're talking to one of Dubai's longest-serving event professionals, mike Wayne. Mike's career in events spans over 28 years, during which time he's been a driving force in creating unforgettable experiences. He's also established several successful businesses, including the UAE's first live communications company, eclipse Staging Services, followed by the brand experience agency, action Impact. In addition to his professional achievements, mike is a passionate advocate for mental health and wellness in the event industry and recently spoke on the subject at the Middle East Events Show. Today he's founder and CEO of Vibrance, which focuses on event management, exhibition stand design and interior fit-out solutions. Mike, welcome to the podcast, ian. Thank you for having me.

Mike Wayne:

How are you? We haven't met for how long? Oh, it must be 20 years almost it really is, isn't it?

Ian Carless:

Yeah, I mean just for everybody listening. Mike and I first met when I was at Ten Sports and you were at. I was at MICE.

Mike Wayne:

Yeah, it was MICE Graffo, I think you designed the first studio set didn't you, I did. It was a TV set and studio up in Media City for. Ten Sports, it was yeah.

Ian Carless:

Fun times. I know Picking up on that. Then let's kick off. How did you end up in Dubai in the first place?

Mike Wayne:

Oh, that's a good question. Yeah, funnily enough, it was actually a friend of mine my best friend from school, whose father was actually working in the oil and gas industry and he wanted to move his family out here. Okay, so I came out on holiday for a month to have a look and stayed for three months, saw the opportunities, went back to the UK and then within two weeks came back out and started work in Dubai, started with Pico in those days, so it was doing events and exhibitions.

Ian Carless:

I've got to ask you this as well, then, obviously, on the subject how did you get into events? I mean, I hear you know, with other industries it's interesting, isn't it? I mean, for example, like myself, I was in television production for a long time and I knew from a very early age that that's what I wanted to do. I don't hear a lot of people in the event industry say, oh, I knew, I always wanted to do events since the age of six. It seems to be more of a vocation that people fall into via something else. So how did you end up in events?

Mike Wayne:

I think I started when I was at university. Really. I mean, at school I always liked a good party, but university really sort of took it to the next level for me. So going back all those years, I was on the crew setting up all the events at university. We had singers coming in, we had Gabrielle, we had all the uni balls, so we were organizing all the events within the university. So you know, an events industry is very addictive. So once you're in it, you're there, you're partying. You're there, you're the last one at night, there at the show. So you're pulling it all out, you're promoting it.

Mike Wayne:

So you learn quite a lot yeah and in those days that's when when free parties started. So of course you were at university, we were doing the uh, doing the, the legal events, and then obviously we were doing the free parties on the weekends. So as you can see my university days, you know, and I don't know what happened because I was studying accounts and finance. So really true contrast. But I would say that's where my passion came for the events and exhibition industry. So it was the building things and creating things in the middle of a field, for example, from nothing, the set building and the looking at it that really sort of got under the skin. I didn't realise it at the time.

Mike Wayne:

And then we came out here and it became a lot more commercially driven. You know, when I joined Pico out, here it was. You know exhibitions was a bigger market here, building stuff, and then it grew from there. So you know, exhibitions was a bigger market here, building stuff, and then it grew from there. So you know, once you're in this industry it's very addictive, you know, similar to television for you. You know the pressure's on, everything is a deadline, everything is exciting, everything is new and each job is different.

Ian Carless:

And when I met you, so you were with. Who was it at the time when I met you? Oh, it was Mice. Mice, yes, because I remember you chatting. At the time you were saying, oh you know, look, I'm not going to be, and you were very whispering on the sidelines listen, you know, something's afoot.

Mike Wayne:

Yeah, yeah, talk to us about that, talk to us about your journey, my journey yeah, your journey, okay, you really want to and Adrian were talking to set up. I was looking at setting up something separately because I thought you know, we could do this a little bit better. As you do when you're young, you always think you're better than your boss and you know more and you think you're great, but the reality is it's a lot tougher than you think. So Adrian and I partnered up and formed Eclipse, which is an event rental company which does lighting lasers with Mark Brown bless his soul, he's passed away a few years ago of cancer, but lovely guy. So yeah. So we formed Eclipse.

Mike Wayne:

We were doing events, we were doing exhibitions and it was the first time really events audiovisual rental and building things like exhibitions had really come together, which we then converted into live communications because we are a grey industry. We're not like an advertising industry. You look through the industry list, there isn't anything. What do we come under? Are we AV? Are we event services? What are we? It's a grey industry. So we then formed and created a live communications company which focused on exhibitions and events, um, with agents, background in equipment rental, mine, in building and doing things, concerts. Then we pushed that business forward. Uh, unfortunately, you know, things don't always go as to plan in business and the third partner we fell out with and we went our separate ways. And then we formed Action Impact, which we never looked back on really, and it was an amazing 15, 16 years of growth and launching many of the major projects that you see here. So that was where I went. I went from.

Ian Carless:

You know, seeing you and unfortunately not seeing as much as you over the 20 years that have passed by, but one's been busy and tell us a little bit more about your action impact journey, because I know, obviously you guys, when covid hit, it was a really tough time for everybody, wasn't it? I mean, I know, yeah, with myself running warehouse four, I mean we, for 18 months just twiddling our thumbs, I, I had, you know, 4,000 square feet of event space that was being unused. So it was challenging times, weren't they?

Mike Wayne:

Yeah, totally. I think the whole COVID era, shall we say, was challenging for the events industry, more so than any other industry in the world, I think because you know nobody comes to your aid.

Ian Carless:

Yeah.

Mike Wayne:

You know, airlines you hear suffering because nobody's travelling. But the reality is governments help them and they have assets that they can redo. You know. But the events industry we bring people together, suddenly we're not allowed to bring people together.

Mike Wayne:

Yeah, what do we do? Yeah, um, so yeah, it was a really really tough time. Uh, it was a lot time for self-reflection, yeah, time for reassessing everything we were doing hybrid events, but hybrid events. People don't really expose themselves and want to have communication online, so you're still not doing the real deals. It's almost like people are going through the motions as opposed to actually engaging in the events, if that makes sense to you, which you still see them around now, but it's not to the level that it was, because really people aren't doing the bigger deals and opening themselves up online as they were. So, yeah, covid was really tough financially across the industry. I think a lot of people left the industry.

Ian Carless:

Yeah.

Mike Wayne:

You know, I think where we are now is an interesting time because the whole industry as a whole has rebuilt. You know, a lot of people say it's bounced back, but I still don't believe the industry is anywhere where it was in terms of skill set, in terms of people, in terms of what could truly be done. I think there's still the legacy of COVID still sits there with mental health. These days, our industry is deadlines driven. Everything is last minute.

Ian Carless:

Yep.

Mike Wayne:

You know, it's the nature of the industry and we know what we're getting into, but the number of people coming into the industry is less, you know. And then we have all the technology aspects heading up. We've got AI, we've got designers, you know. So the talent pool is a struggle these days.

Ian Carless:

Yeah, it's interesting that you I was going to ask you actually, you know, if you had to write a report card on the health of the industry you know pre-COVID and post-COVID what would your report card say? I mean, from my point of view on the warehouse side, I've noticed pre-COVID we were doing a lot larger events and probably not as many of them Post-COVID we're doing a lot, lot more smaller events, and I guess what I take away from that is that I think there was a certain realization over COVID as well that yeah, okay, it's great getting, you know, 1500 people together in a room, or even 750 people together in a room, but as a client, how much face time do you actually get with those people? You know, and I think what, what the learning seems to have been is that with smaller groups, you just get more intimacy, you get more one-on-one time with people and you're able to foster better relationships and, as you know, in this market, relationships are key yeah, totally, I.

Mike Wayne:

I. I think there's, there are room for you know, your epic big launch events where you need you know, you see them, you need them.

Mike Wayne:

They're big statement events. You know the intimate events are where the real deals and everything get done. Yeah, you know always. You know it's always those ones that you don't hear about. The people aren't invited. It's it's quite specific on your audience that you're inviting the people aren't invited. It's it's quite specific on your audience that you're inviting. Yeah, but you also still need your brand building events. Where it's big, it's out there, it's the everyone event. It's not just, you know, the decision makers. You need to get everybody on side and they're really what you've seen less of, and that's really because of budget, I believe. I believe the brands still want to do it. I still still believe they want to be there. The issue is they can't be seen to be doing that too much because they've got to realign their budgets in certain areas. So it's wiser spending, if that makes sense over the last few years that have passed Talking of big events.

Ian Carless:

if you look back over, I guess, your time with Action, impact and before that, and Eclipse, what are the ones that stand out for you where you go? Damn?

Mike Wayne:

I'm glad we did that. I would say my biggest sort of proudest moment is from launching the, the concept of Dubai Parks and Resorts in Dubai Land, which was launched in the vision of Dubai Land, and then, in 2016, launching Dubai Parks and Resorts. I mean it's quite a major feat. There was four theme parks all launched in one on a floating stage the first drone show within the Middle East that had ever been done. Small in comparison to the number of drones that people are flying around these days. However, the logistics of it and everything else, that was probably be one of my proudest moments from. You know, 10 years from launching the actual vision yeah to actually seeing that come to fruition to almost 10 years later is quite an achievement now, I know you've you've recently, I think in the last 18 months you've launched a new venture.

Ian Carless:

I wanted to ask you you know, as somebody who's now launched what three, four companies and obviously being, you know, salaried in between at various points what is it that keeps driving you back towards that entrepreneurial journey, versus just taking the salaried role?

Mike Wayne:

I know, it's pure madness, isn't it? I don't know, I think it's the addiction of that going through the process. You know, the addictiveness of our industries itself is challenging enough. Then layering on, starting again and redoing is, you know, I think I like to be in control of my own destiny a little bit. You know, the stresses and the worries keep me going. I think it's maybe adrenaline kick. You know, maybe I'm actually just a junkie of, uh, setting up businesses and things.

Mike Wayne:

I, I don't know, um, I've never really sat back and analyzed it, but, uh, I think you know, since covid, when I looked at closing, closing action in fact down and then, um, starting, starting fresh, you know, I really did take a few years out just to look and see.

Mike Wayne:

Okay, is there something else I want to go into is that, you know, business is business and there's many different areas that you can do.

Mike Wayne:

But there was always this drawback to the events industry. You know, from a building, from, you know from interiors to set building, to putting in structures. That always fascinates me because you are seeing it I think I touched on it earlier where you're seeing the actual finished product within a short period of time. So that job satisfaction and that satisfaction moment of seeing a client smile and be grateful and that gives you true purpose of why you're doing it. And as long as you agree with why they want to do what they want to do, then it really gives you a purpose to help people to grow. So that's why I sort of started again, really, because I was sort of seeing the market taking a bit of a change and slowly I could see it in a bit of a downward trend of the standards and people not finishing work on time and doing it right and I thought, oh, actually, maybe now's the time to sort of come back in.

Mike Wayne:

But you know the market, there's lots of people in the market, there's lots of people doing great work and the industry's slowly coming back. But I would really love for the standard to be back where it was, of truly, truly world class.

Ian Carless:

That's interesting. I wanted to ask you this. I mean, like yourself, I've founded businesses over the years, production companies in particular. Some have succeeded, some have failed, some because of my own doing perhaps, if I look back and I'm completely honest, and some just because of circumstances that were out of my control. What do you think you'll take away from those past experiences moving forward now in your new journey? It's interesting.

Mike Wayne:

I think you learn most when you fail. Yes, you know, and you truly look back and people are scared to fail, you know, and Dubai's never really been a place that allows you to fail, you know, but the government is really sort of pushing things so that you can these days, which is great, because to truly become an entrepreneur you need to fail. You know, as you say, you failed.

Mike Wayne:

I've had failed businesses as well, I believe it or not. I went into car ventures, you know, because I enjoyed driving cars and looking at cars, but you know, some of them failed and some of them didn't, but you know, they were just little side hobbies. So I think the reality is is focus. I would say you need focus and you have to drive and you have to be focused and you want to be the best of what you do. You know, just accepting something because that's what somebody says doesn't mean it's right. You have to question, you have to be curious, you don't need to be able to adapt to your circumstances and I think measuring these days, more so than ever, managing your cash flow.

Ian Carless:

Yeah, that's a big one.

Mike Wayne:

You know that's the big one at the moment, I would say, in the world cash flow, because it's all about cash that makes the world go round. So managing that cash flow when companies aren't paying you on time and delaying that gives challenges.

Ian Carless:

And that's a perennial problem, I think, is managing that cash flow particularly and getting paid on time. I think often, when you're talking about big events as well, there's a huge outlay involved at the beginning and that's a lot for people to carry.

Mike Wayne:

Yeah, of course People don't realise that just to design something has a cost. You know, people believe that, oh, just change this design, just make this tweak.

Ian Carless:

Yeah.

Mike Wayne:

You spend all that money designing and you know, dare I say, the client has more than 10 companies pitching on the same project. Yeah, 10 companies that just had that cost of a designer or design team, because you still need to cost it. So you still need your production, you still need your producers, you still need everyone to spend time across that project. It has a cost and when they go out to more companies, then it becomes harder and harder. So the pre-qualifications need to be better, the standards need to be better. Standards need to be there in order to choose correctly. So it becomes a lot harder to manage your cash flow. Because you've spent money on pitching, now you also need to win the project. If you don't, nine companies have lost. Only one person has won that project. So that company now needs to then put performance bonds, put all these ties down in order to, so cash is king.

Ian Carless:

Which leads me on to. You know, I was going to ask you what do you think are some of the challenges that we currently face in the event industry? Managing that pitching process, for example. I mean we experience that at Warehouse 4 quite a bit. You know, I'll often get for an event, I'll get four or five different event companies looking to book the warehouse and I'll you know, when you look at the brief you're like oh, that's all the same event, it's the same events. And I feel for those event management companies because, as you just pointed out, only one of them is going to get the gig I mean we're a little bit lucky because we've got five bites of the cherry, for example. They've only got one bite of that cherry. And I think sometimes it's a little unfair of clients just to sort of machine gun out a whole load of RFPs to as many event companies as they can.

Mike Wayne:

Yeah, and I agree with you 100%. I think the industry just needs to talk more to each other. That's the key is, rather than treating each other as competitors. We're all in the same industry. We all should be companions on the same journey, willing to help each other along the way. So only if you do that then will you stride in the right direction, because nothing's going to change. They're still going to go out to the companies procurement legislation you have to. You know it's standard. You know why wouldn't you go and get three quotes If you're not getting three quotes? I think it's crazy. You know 10 quotes, probably a bit too much to be fair.

Ian Carless:

Yeah, I think sometimes I mean just thinking about that now. I think we're also perhaps a little bit of a maybe this is one of the negatives of just where we are, and that's that Dubai is quite a transient place, and I always used to joke that you know, you'd often ring up a client after 18 months and they'd be like who? And you'd realize, oh, they've moved on. Now the best case scenario is that is, they've moved on within the UAE and you now hopefully have a new client. The downside of it is that they've either left the country, in which case you've lost that existing client, but then also, ok, you may have gained the same client with a new company, but then you then have a new relationship to build.

Mike Wayne:

Yeah, but I think that's where your client servicing team really comes into play and I think that's one thing you know since COVID. People try to cut out the client servicing and it's a sales slash project manager in one thing. But true client servicing, you would be able to cover that because you're friendly with the procurement, you're friendly with the CEO and one person's left. One person isn't the company that you're dealing with. One person's an individual that you warm to, but actually you're dealing with. One person is an individual that you warm to, but actually you're working with an entity.

Mike Wayne:

It's the entity that's employed, you, not the individual. And that's where client services is a true tool art in itself. And if you're able to manage those relationships which we keep talking about, it's all about relationship management.

Mike Wayne:

It's not the person, it's the entity with the people yeah that you're dealing with, because you know the brand better than them, you know you should become their brand guardian because you know them better than they know themselves. Yeah, that's a true partnership. That's how we grew the businesses, that's how we grow our relationships with people, that's how we operate, so that we know them better than they know themselves, because that new person in doesn't really know. All they want to do is look good. And that's how you build their trust and build their reliance, because you're aware yep, so you know that that that's the art form I think you know, and business growth will grow. That person will call you because you made them look good before and you'll make them look good again. So, especially now, with the brain drain and everyone going to Saudi Arabia, you know here is becoming, you know, short on true talent.

Ian Carless:

That was actually going to be. One of my next questions was Saudi. You know, you've been here what 27, 28 years? I've been here 22 years. I think. We've both seen things come and go, as they do Saudi. Is that one of those things that's going to come and go? Or how important is Saudi going to be moving forward, in particular, obviously in relation to the event?

Mike Wayne:

industry. It's interesting Maybe 15 years ago we were working in Saudi Arabia and doing projects and we take everything from here and go in there and deliver projects, fly things in from Europe, deliver the projects and then come back. You know, great, wonderful place, great projects. Saudi will grow. There's no doubt about it. It will grow. It's going through what I call the gold rush season, which will come to an end. I think it probably is.

Mike Wayne:

People are starting to read, revisit budgets, see the true sustainability of what they're trying to do, and then it will grow a reasonable pace. It's been very fast paced over the last few years, to say the least. Do I think it will be a sustainable market? Yes, I do. I think it'll be a huge market for everybody, but I think the UAE is ahead by far and I think the UAE stands to stay ahead if they keep doing what they're doing. Looking at the events that the sectors are doing very well, both DTCM and ADTA in Abu Dhabi are doing fantastic jobs of keeping people as UAE as number one in the region. You know Saudi Arabia will take time to come to where the UAE is and I think they're just a little bit too far behind, and it doesn't matter how much money you throw at it. It takes time to build that across the world. You know we're talking about international visitors. Saudi Arabia has its own visitors internally that they can just service, but on the global stage I think the UAE is the place to be.

Ian Carless:

So moving tax slightly. I mean, you mentioned this earlier in the conversation. We work in an incredibly stressful industry. You know short deadlines, high pressure, high stakes. How, then, you know, when we live in such a stressful or work in such a stressful industry, mental health has become increasingly important, has it, hasn't it, as it has throughout the world in pretty much every industry, and I know that's something you're pretty hot on at the moment. Do you want to talk about that?

Mike Wayne:

yeah, I'm, you know, I'm very, I'm very close to it. I haven't had my own uh challenges over the over the years likewise been in this industry.

Mike Wayne:

I don't think anyone within the events industry hasn't had some form of mental issue or concern or, you know, sleepless nights, whatever you want to term it. But I think the world is now giving things a name. You know there is anxiety, there is everything. As soon as you give things a name mental health, etc. Then people can relate to it, then you can address it. I think the key is people have to accept it and address it, because everyone suffers. There's no two ways about it the pressure release you'll find people on events, the buildup and the pressure of the event the following week after they stop and then they're sick. It is very important to allow time for mental health and for people to address it and also to be aware of it.

Mike Wayne:

Because at any time something can happen. We've got more suicides than ever in the uk. Uh, events, industry happening. You know it's getting better because people are addressing it and people have been aware. But you know, as guys we don't want to go and talk about it. We, you know it's a bit of an embarrassment, it's a bit of a but the more people talk about it, the better. Better, and I spoke about the Middle East event show last year on mental health because it is definitely an issue that only the individuals can sort out. The businesses can point you in the right direction and help you, but as an individual you have to take it on yourself and your friends and colleagues around you can try and help identify any issues that may be there. And it's a very delicate subject.

Ian Carless:

Do you think, as somebody that's perhaps been on both sides of that, you know and like myself, you know that we've had stressful times and times of, you know, great discomfort. Do you think it's the onus is on? You alluded to it just then, but do you think the onus is on the individual, or is there more that corporations and companies, employers can be doing as well to help?

Mike Wayne:

no-transcript, know, and I thought that was funny at the time and it was a joke and it was ongoing. Should I say something along those lines? These days, the anxiety and the stress that that would cause people when they leave of, you know, do they feel they should be doing more is wrong and that's the education piece that's helped. So, being empathetic towards them. And you know, making sure people get enough rest days, you know recovery days, you know is important, you know, for their own mental well-being. You know you want the most out of your staff and teams that are doing. And you know, in our industry, if you're're in this industry, you are committed 150 percent to a project.

Ian Carless:

Do you think that it's something that's the recognition is where it should be within our industry?

Mike Wayne:

no, no, there's a long way to go, you know, and that that's you know. We've got budget pressures. We've got people saying you're too expensive. You've got, you know, clients not necessarily accepting it, but yet in their own industries they accept it. But why don't they accept it for the event industry, their procurement teams? Why are your rates so expensive? Well, they're not. The market rates are the market rates. These are the rates.

Ian Carless:

One of the things you could throw back there is, as we all know, timelines. Maybe my stress will be managed if you gave us a little bit more time to work on this event.

Mike Wayne:

Yeah, I mean that's been a lifelong thing. I mean time's got shorter and shorter, but I actually do think there is a bit more planning going ahead now, especially as people look more towards the international type events. But there is planning in, but there is. You'll never have pure planning across everything. You will always have the last minute events what have you done differently then?

Ian Carless:

do you think to manage your own sort of mental health in that, in that space?

Mike Wayne:

I think I've become a lot more selective. You know, the power of no is definitely more rigid than it was many years ago, because when you're off you just want to chase and run and you think you're invincible. You can run 150 miles an hour, which I'm sure I could in the old days, I think. But I think now we just get a bit more. We measure the risk. I think that is the key is measuring your risk and what it takes, and is it worth the reward at the end of the end of the tunnel?

Ian Carless:

do you think we mellow with age as well?

Mike Wayne:

I don't think we necessarily mellow. I think we just don't mellows. It mellows an interesting word. Yeah, I. I think we become a little bit more reserved and wiser. I think that gray is truly a little bit more of a wiser. You know, there is always someone younger and faster behind you, you know like boxing careers.

Mike Wayne:

You know there's always someone stronger and faster behind you. You know they're short careers, but yeah, I think it's a young man's sport to be running 100 miles an hour. Yeah, but you know, we have that knowledge. You know as we get older and hopefully we can pass that on to others. That's the key.

Ian Carless:

Very true. Well, before we wrap up, I've been asking everybody this. I'm a bit of a music fan. The vinyl collection is growing again. What's on your playlist at the moment? What are you listening to in the car?

Mike Wayne:

That's again what's on your playlist at the moment. What are you listening to in the car? That's interesting actually. I've actually gone back. I've actually gone way back and let me think, sing. I've gone way back. Yeah, no, I'm actually listening to a bit of rap at the moment, funnily enough. Yeah, mc dmc, I wouldn't put you around. Nobody would, nobody Jump around, nobody would, nobody would. But I don't know why. I don't know if it's lyrical, I don't know if it's just a time. I've sort of flashback. I like all music, don't get me wrong. I like all genres of music. I actually love country music and I think it's because the stories in it it's the same as the events industry. You haven't got anything. So you know, stories in country music is second to none. Rapping is very similar if you sit back.

Ian Carless:

And for anybody listening to this, I'm now sat across a Mike Wayne who's looking a little bit like Kenny. Loggins at the moment, oh Getting that country reference no exactly. And just to wrap up, what are you looking forward to?

Mike Wayne:

I'm looking forward to this year. Actually, I think this year is going to be quite an exciting year. I think 2025, we're going to see a lot of resets, you know, politically across the world. Hopefully we'll see some stability coming back in and some wisdom and just some action, really just to reset everything and build up so people can be positive, because I think the last few years have been quite negative and quite down, but yet here in the uae certainly, and saudi arabia as well although let's focus on the uae because that's where we are is had an exceptional year and I think that can just continue and can grow with stability, and I think 2025 is going to be a year of forward motion is what I think.

Mike Wayne:

I think we're going to see a lot more intimate events, as you said earlier. I think they will continue. I think we're seeing, you know, a large number of high net worth individuals coming in wanting to have interesting events. Yeah, I think we'll see some bigger giga events. We're seeing a lot more festivals going on. I think there'll be more and more festivals, because it's an area where people can come together both families, communities. So you, you're enabling both balance of people spending time with their families and having fun and engaging. I still think you'll see supply chain issues and talent issues going on across the region, from materials through to the talent. I still think that will stay in place, but I'm really looking forward to the forward motion of 2025, which is what I think everybody should be looking forward to. That wave is there, even though businesses may be down in some sectors, but I believe it will truly push through in 2025.

Ian Carless:

Mike, thank you very much for coming in and thanks for joining me.

Mike Wayne:

No, thanks very much for having me. It's been a pleasure after all these years.

Ian Carless:

Mustn't leave it this long.

Mike Wayne:

Sitting across from you seeing your face. I'll see you in 25 years next, but no, it's been fantastic really.

Ian Carless:

So you in 25 years next, but no, it's been fantastic, really. So thank you for having me. You're welcome. Event news dxb was presented by myself, ian carlos, the studio engineer and editor was roy de monte, the executive producer was myself and joe morrison, and this podcast is a co-production between warehouse 4 and w4 podcast studio dubai, and if you haven't done so already, please do click that follow or subscribe button. See you next time.