The first World Future Energy Summit (WFES) held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, has been hailed as "one of the UAE's most successful launch events" by show organiser Turret Middle East.  

Taking up 20,000sqm of ADNEC, the three day summit and exhibition featured more than 11,000 visitors, 3,000 delegates, 216 exhibitors from 22 countries with six national pavilions and over 300 members of the local and international media.

Inaugurated by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, WFES featured a series of keynote speakers including HRH The Duke of York, The President of Iceland, The President of The Maldives, The President of Djibouti, Lord Norman Foster and HRH The Prince of Wales (via a pre recorded hologram).  One of the highlights of the event was the announcement of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed that the Government of Abu Dhabi was to invest US$15 billion in emission free Hydro-carbon energy initiatives.

Commenting on the success of the event, Richard Hease, Chairman of Turret Middle East said:

"It is rare that a launch event ticks all of the boxes, but this has been one of the UAE's most successful launch events ever.  WFES was independently audited at 11,172 unique visitors, which was double our initial target. With 70% re-book of exhibitors and 80% of sponsors, we have already begun working on WFES 2009 and expect the show to be even bigger and better than this year."

Simon Horgan, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) added:

"We've been delighted by the success of the inaugural WFES but we are not surprised.  The emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, with markets expanding at quite remarkable rates; one such market is renewable energy.  I congratulate Turret Middle East on the events success and look forward to working with them on WFES 2009."

For further information please contact:

Louise Osborne 
Account Manager - Marketing and Public Relations
Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company
Tel: + 971 2 406 3342
Fax: + 971 2 4446135
P.O.Box: 5546
Email: louise.osborne@adnec.ae 
Website: http://www.adnec.ae/