Jay-Z, Rihanna, Coldplay and Pitbull could all find themselves at a ceremony under the stars at the first Dubai International Music Awards next year.
The awards, known as Dima, are slated for November 22, 2013 at Burj Park, Downtown Dubai. Details of the event will be announced at a press conference on January 22 on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa and will be streamed live on YouTube.
The awards’ international panel of judges includes American Hype Williams, who is famous for his music videos for stars including Rihanna and Jay-Z, Daddy Yankee’s manager Nomar Ayala from Puerto Rico, soFLY&Nius, a producer for Flo Rida and Enrique Iglesias, Korean pop magnate Rhee Woo Seok, the UAE’s DJ the UAE’s DJ Bliss, singer Mokobe Traore from Mali and Myriam Fares’ manager, Roula, from Lebanon.
The event will recognise well-known musicians and industry professionals in the Middle East as well as worldwide, and will take into consideration music released from January 1 to September 30, 2013.
The 2014 awards, however will take into account music released from November 23, 2013-September 30, 2014, which will continue each subsequent year.
Dima hopes to “bring together well-known artists from every continent” and will be topped off with an “extravagant fireworks display” according to organisers.
Asri Bendacha, executive producer of Dima said the event will “pay homage to 67 talented artists from more than 20 countries responsible for keeping music alive and influential around the world”.
“This will be the first music awards ceremony that will be broadcast online with worldwide access and we are looking forward to the celebrations next year,” he said. “One of our goals is to make Dubai the world capital of music during this history-making event,” he added.
While the organisers wouldn’t be drawn on any stars confirmed to attend, they did however suggest the jury panel connections may give away a number of the faces we could be seeing in Dubai next November.
Nominations will be announced during a press conference in Dubai on October 5, 2013, after which an online voting system will be launched until voting closes on November 10. The awards will then be revealed and presented on November 22.
