Expo 2020 Dubai opening ceremony bags 29 trophies at global Telly Awards

DUBAI, 30 September 2021. Expo 2020 Opening Ceremony, Expo 2020 Dubai. (Photo by David Jimenez/Expo 2020 Dubai)
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Updated 01 June 2022
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Expo 2020 Dubai opening ceremony bags 29 trophies at global Telly Awards

  • Honors include gold wins in nine categories and award for outstanding event production of the year

DUBAI: Expo 2020 Dubai, the first world expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, has claimed 29 awards at the global Telly Awards across multiple categories for its opening ceremony.

The Expo Dubai Explorer App also won a Gold Telly in the immersive and mixed reality craft-metaverse category.

The opening ceremony won gold in nine categories: Immersive and mixed reality craft — use of AR; immersive and mixed reality craft — directing; immersive and mixed reality general — series/show; immersive and mixed reality general — dance and performance; immersive and mixed reality general — events; online craft — videography/cinematography; online craft — use of music; online craft — set design, and online craft — use of 360 audio.

It also won 12 silver and eight bronze awards, as well as a special recognition for outstanding event production of the year.

Tareq Ghosheh, chief events and entertainment officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “We are incredibly proud of the world-class entertainment we delivered at Expo 2020 Dubai — not just with our opening ceremony, which has been watched virtually by millions across the globe, but also with the continuous 182 days of unparalleled entertainment experiences we tirelessly delivered, with up to 200 live events staged daily across a plethora of world-class venues.”

As the world’s biggest event of its kind since the pandemic, Expo 2020 Dubai’s opening ceremony was broadcast to a global audience of millions across multiple channels, including Expo TV and Virtual Expo. As of March 31, 2022, it had been viewed 7.6 million times.

Founded in 1979 to honor adverts made for cable and local TV, the Telly Awards updates its categories to include branded content and social video.

This season’s theme, “A New POV,” recognizes recent changes through a new focus on hybrid events, immersive and mixed reality, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and social impact.

Other winners include ViacomCBS, Warner Bros., Fortune Brand Studio, Sony Music Entertainment, Microsoft, and ESPN.


Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access

Updated 22 December 2025
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Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access

  • Supreme Court set deadline for responding to petition filed by the Foreign Press Association to Jan. 4
  • Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the Strip

JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Sunday welcomed the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to set January 4 as the deadline for Israel to respond to its petition seeking media access to Gaza.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Israel has instead allowed, on a case-by-case basis, a handful of reporters to accompany its troops into the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition to the supreme court last year, seeking immediate access for international journalists to the Gaza Strip.
On October 23, the court held a first hearing on the case, and decided to give Israeli authorities one month to develop a plan for granting access.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with their plan, but on Saturday it set January 4 as a final deadline.
“If the respondents (Israeli authorities) do not inform us of their position by that date, a decision on the request for a conditional order will be made on the basis of the material in the case file,” the court said.
The FPA welcomed the court’s latest directive.
“After two years of the state’s delay tactics, we are pleased that the court’s patience has finally run out,” the association said in a statement.
“We renew our call for the state of Israel to immediately grant journalists free and unfettered access to the Gaza Strip.
“And should the government continue to obstruct press freedoms, we hope that the supreme court will recognize and uphold those freedoms,” it added.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.