Dubai World Trade Centre

Dubai World Trade Centre occupies a campus on Sheikh Zayed Road in central Dubai, grown around the Sheikh Rashid Tower that Queen Elizabeth II opened in February 1979. That 39-storey, 184 m tower was Dubai's first building of its kind and gave the city a trade address before it had a skyline; the exhibition halls came later, with Halls 1 and 2 in 1988, Halls 4 to 8 in 1996, the Sheikh Saeed Halls in 2009 and the Za'abeel Halls in 2016. DWTC now reports 145,000 sqm of event space. Halls 1 to 8 alone offer more than 31,000 sqm of interconnected, divisible floor, served by 15 goods entrances and two concourses; the Sheikh Saeed and Za'abeel wings add larger column-free halls, and the Sheikh Rashid and Sheikh Maktoum halls handle conferences and banquets. The complex also includes the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, a free zone with more than 2,000 companies, and hotels within walking distance. Its calendar includes Gulfood, GITEX, Arab Health and The Big 5, which is why the venue functions as a trade hub rather than a rental hall. The Dubai Metro Red Line stops at World Trade Centre station on the doorstep, and Dubai International Airport is about 15 minutes by road.