Before the Middle East war, the Gulf had positioned itself to become one of the world’s busiest centers for conferences, exhibitions and high-level events.
The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have worked hard to be seen as crossroads for business, politics and innovation, hosting global sporting events from Formula 1 to high-stakes boxing championships and top-tier golf tournaments.
The Gulf has also welcomed global CEOs, being home to major business conferences such as the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, the Web Summit in Doha and Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
A delegate to attend the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Forum arrives at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Fayez Nureldine | AFP | getty images
Now, as the battlefield threatens to destabilize flights and the region’s carefully constructed future, events ranging from cultural to crypto have been quietly rescheduled.
Several high-profile gatherings scheduled to take place in the Middle East from March to May are being postponed, rescheduled or placed under review as organizers assess the impact of the current regional conflict, underscoring how geopolitical tensions are disrupting the Gulf’s once-packed conference calendar.
formula 1 announced Earlier this month it was said that “due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April.”
Several major gatherings scheduled for April and May are still in limbo, with many opting for a modified version of what would normally be a massive global event.
Art Dubai, the city’s premier cultural event that annually draws 120 galleries from more than 40 countries, said CNBC reported that the event will go ahead in an “adapted format at Madinat Jumeirah” from 14-17 May.
“There remains a clear understanding that maintaining the platform that Art Dubai represents is vital to the broader cultural ecosystem,” the statement said.
Several other major events have already been pushed back. The Arabian Travel Market, a huge travel industry conference held at the World Trade Center in Dubai, which was originally scheduled for May, has been moved to August, with organizers citing “recent developments in the sector”.
The World Economic Forum announced that it will reschedule the Global Cooperation and Development Meeting, which was planned to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to April 2026. The World Economic Forum said, “This reflects a commitment to convene the meeting under conditions that ensure its full strategic impact.” Said Tuesday
The Arab Media Forum, scheduled to take place in April, has been postponed to September 2026, with organizers saying the decision was taken to ensure the event meets its scale and ambition.
Smoke is seen rising after Iran launched a missile attack on the main headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in Manama in response to the US-Israeli attacks in Bahrain on February 28, 2026.
stringer | Anadolu | getty images
TOKEN2049 Dubai, one of the world’s largest crypto conferences that last year featured Tether CEO and Binance founder Eric Trump, has been postponed a full year to April 2027, as organizers said they wanted to guarantee the global crypto community the ability to gather “at the scale and quality that defines TOKEN2049,” while reiterating their long-term commitment to Dubai.
Abu Dhabi Business Week, initially scheduled for April 6-9, has also been postponed, with a new date yet to be announced. Organizers said the decision was made to ensure “the most suitable environment for the success of this extraordinary economic event” and meaningful participation of international stakeholders.
Together, these changes highlight the growing operational uncertainty facing the Middle East’s events sector, which has become a core pillar of the Gulf’s non-oil economies, as organizers balance security concerns with the region’s ambitions to remain a global convening hub.
Travelers to and from the Gulf’s major aviation hubs have faced thousands of flight cancellations and diversions as airlines reevaluate operations through the region’s increasingly volatile airspace.
Impact on the ‘Davos of Energy’ conference
Due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, the CEOs of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco opted not to attend the so-called ‘Davos of Energy’ CERAWeek conference in Houston.
Both ADNOC and Aramco facilities have been targeted by Iranian drones and missiles in recent weeks, and an industry source close to CEO Amin Nasser told CNBC that Nasser’s priority was “to be there for his teams spread across the kingdom.”
ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber also preferred to deal with the crisis instead of an energy conference, which was attended by big oil and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Sultan said in a video speech at the conference that Iran’s disruption of the Strait of Hormuz is “economic terrorism” that threatens global energy supplies.