In 2025, the 14th season of the Hamdan International Photography Award celebrated 22 winners at the Museum of the Future. Categories ranged from black-and-white and sports photography to drone cinematography, united by the season theme Power.

Evolution developed a bespoke sub-theme, Your Power, Your Perspective, to turn that broad theme into a more personal audience proposition. The idea recognised that photographic power comes not only from the subject, but from the individual viewpoint behind the image.

That narrative guided the ceremony’s scenic environment, motion graphics, films, digital content and music. The result was a full-house awards experience in which every discipline reinforced the emotional energy behind the winning work.

The Challenge

The Museum of the Future auditorium required a creative response capable of matching a highly recognisable venue without overwhelming the photography. Twenty-two winners and multiple categories also needed individual recognition within one coherent show arc.

The audience journey extended beyond the auditorium. The pre-function area needed to introduce the winners, provide comfortable hospitality and carry a live connection to the ceremony for guests moving through the space.

The Solution

Evolution built the creative direction around Your Power, Your Perspective. Motion graphics and screen storytelling treated every category as a different expression of personal agency, while retaining one visual language across the ceremony.

Custom films and bespoke video sequences were developed alongside an original musical composition mixed and produced in 7.1 surround sound. This made sound an active part of the narrative, immersing the audience in each transition rather than using music only as background accompaniment.

A dedicated winners gallery incorporated integrated screens displaying tailored category and recipient content. The gallery provided a more intimate encounter with the winning work before and after the formal programme.

The pre-function area was fully fitted with lounge seating, high tables, plants and decorative elements. An extended feature wall with a built-in screen carried a live feed of the ceremony, maintaining engagement and continuity beyond the auditorium doors.

Delivery Highlights

• Creative direction built around the bespoke sub-theme Your Power, Your Perspective.
• Full-house awards ceremony celebrating 22 winners at the Museum of the Future.
• Original films, video sequences, motion graphics and digital category content.
• Bespoke music composed, mixed and produced in 7.1 surround sound.
• Dedicated winners gallery with integrated category and recipient screens.
• Pre-function lounge environment with seating, high tables, planting and decorative details.
• Extended feature wall incorporating a live feed of the ceremony.

Outcome

The ceremony gave the theme Power a human point of view. Each winning photograph was presented not only as an image, but as evidence of the perspective and intent behind it.

The auditorium, gallery and pre-function environment remained connected through content and live media, allowing recognition to continue across the complete guest experience rather than beginning and ending on the stage.

Project Ecosystem

Client:

HIPA 

Evolution Events: Led the creative direction, Your Power Your Perspective narrative, films, digital content, original music, guest journey, awards production and live delivery.

Evolution Scenic: Fabricated the ceremony environment, winners gallery and extended feature wall.

Evolution Technical: Delivered screen integration, live-feed systems, playback and the 7.1 surround-sound environment.

Evolution Furniture: Provided the pre-function lounge seating, high tables and supporting hospitality furniture.

A two-day investment forum connecting a 25-metre main-stage experience with breakout content, media studios and 59 dedicated B2B meeting spaces.

In February 2024, the third annual Investopia brought more than 1,600 global leaders, investors and innovators to the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi. Hosted by the Ministry of Economy, the two-day programme explored emerging investment trends and international opportunities.

Returning for a second consecutive year, Evolution developed the event around the different formats required by a global investment platform: public thought leadership, focused panel discussions, formal announcements, broadcast interviews and private business meetings.

The design approach created a series of connected environments, each with a defined role within the participant journey. From the main stage to private meetings and media spaces, every area was planned to support a different type of engagement while maintaining one unified event identity.

The Challenge

The third edition needed to support more than 1,600 attendees and an expanded B2B programme while maintaining the coherence, privacy and operational standards expected of an international investment event.

Three stages, two enclosed television studios, 50 individual meeting booths and nine private meeting rooms needed to operate simultaneously. Each environment required the right balance of privacy, technical support and visual identity while remaining connected to the wider event experience.

The principal stage also required greater visual scale to support high-profile content and establish a stronger focal point for the expanded edition.

The Solution

Evolution designed the main stage around a 25-metre screen, curved scenic architecture and six LED screen totems. The composition created a strong visual platform for presentations, ensuring speakers, content and audience focus remained connected within the wider environment.

A breakout stage supported smaller panel formats, while a dedicated press and MOU stage provided a separate setting for announcements and media activity. This approach allowed different content formats to operate simultaneously while maintaining the appropriate atmosphere, timing and technical requirements for each.

The custom B2B environment contained 50 individual booths and nine enclosed meeting rooms manufactured by Evolution’s in-house scenic department. Together, these 59 spaces provided participants with flexible settings for introductions, business discussions and more private conversations.

Two enclosed TV studios within the pre-function area supported interviews and broadcast activity. An opening film introduced Investopia’s themes, while onsite management coordinated the movement of speakers, delegates, media and operational teams across the multiple event environments.

Delivery Highlights

• Two-day event for more than 1,600 participants at St. Regis Saadiyat Island.
• Main stage with a 25-metre screen, curved scenic elements and six LED-screen totems.
• Separate breakout and press/MOU stages.
• B2B environment with 50 individual booths and nine enclosed meeting rooms.
• Two fully enclosed television studios for interviews and live broadcasts.
• High-impact opening film introducing the event.
• Integrated onsite management across all programme and meeting areas.

Outcome

Investopia 2024 created an environment where more than 1,600 participants could move seamlessly between public thought leadership and private business exchange. Major ideas were introduced on the main stage, explored through smaller sessions, shared through media platforms and developed further within 59 dedicated meeting spaces.

This range of environments supported the different stages of investment engagement, from global visibility and knowledge sharing through to focused discussions, relationship building and formal business conversations.

Project Ecosystem

Client:

Ministry of Economy

Evolution Events: Led concept design, participant journey, meeting-area strategy, media and programme coordination, onsite management and live delivery.

Evolution Scenic: Manufactured and installed the three stages, curved scenic architecture, B2B booths, enclosed meeting rooms and television-studio environments.

Evolution Technical: Delivered the 25-metre screen, LED totems, presentation systems, broadcast-studio integration and wider technical production.

Additional Project Support:

Evolution Furniture - Evolution Site Services

For Winter City 2025 at Expo City Dubai, Evolution was commissioned to design and build a large-scale winter wonderland across a sequence of themed activations and custom environments.

The creative opportunity was to make the site feel like one unfolding seasonal story rather than a collection of unrelated Christmas installations. Each zone required its own atmosphere and activity, but the transitions needed to keep families moving through a recognisable Winter City world.

Evolution developed the environment around progression and discovery, using bespoke scenic construction, furniture, décor and props to give every destination a distinct role within the wider visitor journey.

The Challenge

Seasonal attractions must work for visitors of different ages and attention spans. The experience needed highly legible destinations, moments of anticipation and enough variety to encourage exploration across the site.

Custom structures also had to meet the practical demands of a live public destination. Durability, access, circulation and operational use needed to be resolved without reducing the visual richness of the winter environments.

The Solution

Evolution designed and constructed Sugar Plum Land, Toyland, North Pole Bakery, Letters to Santa, the North Pole Information Center, a Disney screening area and Santa’s Grotto as separate chapters within one journey.

Every structure was purpose-built around its creative and operational requirement. Bespoke scenic fabrication allowed the environments to feel specific to their activity rather than adapted from generic seasonal stock.

Furniture, decorative details and themed props extended the visual language into guest seating, activity areas and smaller touchpoints across the site. This maintained continuity even as the colour, character and purpose of each zone changed.

Layouts were planned around smooth circulation and clear thematic transitions, helping families understand where to move next while preserving the sense of surprise between destinations.

Delivery Highlights

• Large-scale seasonal destination at Expo City Dubai.
• Multiple themed zones designed as one connected visitor journey.
• Sugar Plum Land, Toyland and North Pole Bakery environments.
• Letters to Santa and North Pole Information Center.
• Disney screening area and Santa’s Grotto.
• Fully bespoke scenic structures built for creative and operational use.
• Complete furniture, décor and themed-prop package.

Outcome

Winter City gave families a clear reason to move through the full destination. Each zone offered a different form of participation, but the scenic detail and transitions kept the experience connected from the first arrival to Santa’s Grotto.

The completed site felt designed as a seasonal world rather than dressed for a season, with custom environments supporting both imaginative storytelling and day-to-day public operation.

Project Ecosystem

Client:

Expo City / Energie

Evolution Events: Led the seasonal concept, visitor-journey planning, activity coordination, site delivery and live operational integration.

Evolution Scenic: Designed and fabricated the complete themed-zone package, custom structures, décor and physical story environments.

Evolution Furniture: Supplied the confirmed furniture and supporting guest settings across the Winter City zones.

Additional Support:

Evolution Technical - Evolution Site Services

Dubai Future Foundation commissioned Our Future(s) Season 2 as a five-day public activation at Kite Beach during the Dubai 30x30 Fitness Challenge.

The experience explored how technology and fitness could shape healthier communities and future lifestyles. Evolution’s task was to turn that theme into direct participation, giving visitors something they could play, test and respond to within an accessible public setting.

The activation connected physical movement with digital interaction through a robotic basketball challenge, a bespoke Global 50 touchscreen experience and a custom structure designed around public use and daily operation.

The Challenge

The beachfront activation needed to welcome more than 5,000 visitors across five days while operating to a fixed daily schedule from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Registration, sessions, resets and public opening all had to follow a repeatable rhythm.

The technology also needed to feel immediate and intuitive. A robotic basketball system and custom touchscreen application had to withstand high public use, record interaction accurately and remain supported throughout the live period.

The Solution

Evolution managed the complete build, installation, five-day operation and de-rig under a compressed programme, including three installation days and two de-rig days.

A bespoke deck and integrated saddle-span tent formed the main activation structure, bringing the interactive and operational requirements into one clear beachfront environment.

The robotic basketball arm was supported by custom registration, programming, scoring and back-end development. This turned a familiar sporting action into a technology-led challenge with a complete participation journey.

A bespoke Global 50 touchscreen application introduced a second mode of engagement, allowing visitors to explore future-focused content beyond the physical game. Evolution coordinated the delivery with Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Municipality, Humantra and Technogym.

Delivery Highlights

• Five-day public activation from 26 to 30 November 2025.
• Daily operation from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM with structured sessions and reset periods.
• More than 5,000 visitors at Kite Beach.
• Complete build, installation, live operation and de-rig.
• Bespoke deck with an integrated saddle-span tent.
• Robotic Basketball Arm with custom registration, programming and scoring.
• Global 50 interactive touchscreen application.
• Coordination with government and commercial programme partners.

Outcome

Our Future(s) turned an abstract discussion about future wellbeing into something visitors could physically experience. Sport created the invitation, technology created the challenge and digital content extended the idea beyond the game.

The beachfront setting remained open and approachable while the registration, programming and operational systems behind it supported thousands of repeat interactions across the five-day run.

Project Ecosystem

Client:

Dubai Future Foundation

Evolution Events: Led the public-experience strategy, partner coordination, programme scheduling, registration journey, permitting, full site operation and live management.

Evolution Scenic: Designed and installed the bespoke deck, primary activation structure and associated physical environment.

Evolution Technical: Delivered the robotic basketball technology, custom programming, scoring system, back-end development and Global 50 touchscreen application.

Additional Project Support:

Evolution Furniture - Evolution Site Services

During April 2021, the UAE Regional Climate Dialogue brought delegates from the Gulf and wider MENA region to Emirates Palace, with international participation including John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. Chaired by H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the summit was delivered within a compressed one-week timeline.

The event's hybrid format needed more than screens added to a meeting room. Remote contributors had to feel present within a high-level ministerial conversation, and the physical environment needed to communicate sustainability and collaboration without relying on generic environmental imagery.

Evolution developed the identity and bespoke scenic elements around that relationship between room and broadcast. The live photo opportunity, set pieces and backdrops were designed to give both audiences a place within the same event.

The Challenge

Hybrid participation changes how a summit is composed. Stage design, screen placement and content framing must work for delegates in the room and for those viewing remotely, while online participants need a credible visual role in the live programme.

The one-week programme for design, fabrication and installation left little margin for revision. The high-profile audience also required a disciplined response suited to Emirates Palace and a formal international dialogue.

The Solution

Evolution created a cohesive brand identity around sustainability and regional collaboration, then translated it into main scenic pieces and backdrops designed for the hybrid format.

A live photo opportunity incorporated both in-person and online participants. This gave the format a visible expression and created a shared communications moment rather than hiding the fact that the audience was distributed across different locations.

Branding, scenic design and technical integration were coordinated as one process. The relationship between physical participants, digital feeds and the camera frame was considered alongside the visual treatment, helping the environment maintain clarity across both viewpoints.

Rapid approvals, fabrication and installation were managed within the one-week timeline. The completed setting retained the formality of a ministerial summit while making hybrid participation part of the event's public identity.

Delivery Highlights

• Hybrid ministerial summit at Emirates Palace.
• Event brand expressing sustainability and regional collaboration.
• Bespoke scenic elements designed for the room and hybrid presentation.
• Live photo opportunity integrating physical and remote participants.
• Coordination of branding, scenic and technical integration.
• Delivery within an approximately one-week timeline.

Outcome

The dialogue did not treat remote participation as a secondary channel. Online contributors were visibly connected to the in-room event, while the scenic identity gave the summit a clear sense of occasion and shared purpose.

The hybrid format became part of the story of regional collaboration: leaders joining from different places were presented as participants in the same conversation, not separate audiences watching one another.

Project Ecosystem

Client:

Council for Climate Change and Environment

Evolution Events: Led the hybrid experience, brand development, fast-track project management and event delivery.

Evolution Scenic: Designed, fabricated and installed the bespoke main set pieces, backdrops, branding and live photo-opportunity environment within the one-week programme.

Evolution Technical: Integrated the physical environment with remote participation and hybrid presentation requirements.

The Qudwa Global Teachers' Forum brought more than 800 educators from around the world to Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Supported by the Education Affairs Office within the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi, the forum was created to empower teachers, encourage professional exchange and contribute to the future of education.

The creative opportunity was to make one of Abu Dhabi's most formal venues behave like a working learning campus. Evolution developed the Qudwa brand and used it to connect the complete delegate experience, from the main auditorium and nine breakout spaces to corridor content, hospitality, outdoor terraces and offsite visits.

This shifted the emphasis away from a single stage. The forum identity became a practical tool for orientation, content continuity and community, helping educators understand how each part of the programme related to a shared purpose.

The Challenge

The scale of Emirates Palace could easily have made the programme feel dispersed. Six new breakout rooms had to be created inside the ballroom, with three additional rooms elsewhere in the venue, while more than 800 teachers moved between formal content, collaborative sessions, hospitality and external activities.

The experience also needed to accommodate senior dignitaries, international delegate travel, speaker content and multiple live environments. Every touchpoint had to carry sufficient authority for a high-profile forum without losing the openness required for teachers to participate and exchange ideas.

The Solution

Evolution began with a flexible visual identity that could move between ceremonial, educational and social settings. In the ballroom, six fully customised breakout rooms created a venue within the venue, each with its own stage and backdrop but tied to the wider forum through a consistent graphic language. The main auditorium and three further breakout rooms extended the same identity across the palace.

The delegate journey continued outside scheduled sessions. Custom infographics turned the corridors into a layer of editorial content, while the buffet environments and furnished terraces created recognisable places for conversation. These settings were not treated as decorative additions; they provided the informal social infrastructure that allows professional relationships to develop between sessions.

Evolution managed the auditorium setup, AVL production and speaker content, alongside branded materials, floral details and the wider event environment. The published project scope also included travel for 800 international guests and offsite visits showcasing Abu Dhabi, requiring the event narrative and guest communication to extend beyond the venue itself.

For a programme of this type, Evolution's planning approach connects room use, content control, guest movement and venue access from the outset. At Qudwa, that integrated thinking allowed the palace to support a complex education programme while retaining a clear sense of welcome, purpose and shared identity.

Delivery Highlights

• Creation and application of the Qudwa event brand across physical, printed and digital touchpoints.
• A main conference auditorium supported by nine breakout environments.
• Six fully customised breakout rooms constructed within the Emirates Palace ballroom.
• Corridor infographics extending the learning narrative between sessions.
• Full AVL production and coordination of speaker content.
• Travel and delegate logistics for 800 international guests, including offsite visits.
• Custom hospitality settings, terrace furniture, floral details and branded elements.

Outcome

Qudwa gave more than 800 educators a coherent route through plenary debate, focused workshops and informal exchange. The brand and spatial plan made a large palace environment easier to understand, while the workshop, corridor and hospitality settings kept learning visible beyond the main stage.

The lasting strength of the experience was its balance: formal enough for an international forum, yet sufficiently open and practical for educators to work, connect and contribute.

Project Ecosystem

Client:

Crown Prince Court

Evolution Events: Led the event strategy, brand development, delegate journey, production management, content coordination and live delivery.

Evolution Scenic: Fabricated and installed the customised stages, backdrops, breakout-room environments, auditorium elements and branded physical features.

Evolution Technical: Delivered the full AVL production supporting the main auditorium, presentations and breakout content.

Evolution Furniture: Provided the custom furniture and hospitality settings used across the outdoor terraces and delegate breakout areas.