This year's AHEAD MEA awards will be held as an online ceremony on Monday 9 November and aired across aheadawards.com and dezeen.com. The event will begin at 2pm (GST) / 10am (GMT) so our global audience can tune in during the day from the comfort of their office or home. Don't miss out, set yourself a reminder here.

AHEAD remains as focused as ever on celebrating the hospitality design industry and the achievements of the owners, operators, developers, architecture firms, design studios, and their dedicated teams. Therefore AHEAD and Sleeper Magazine are proud to collaborate with Downtown Design, the Middle East's leading design trade fair for high-quality design across the residential, urban, commercial and hospitality sectors.

Taking place from 9 - 14 November during Dubai Design Week, the creative festival will take on a hybrid format and deliver its programme across digital and physical platforms. Here’s what you can expect:

The Digital Fair: Launching 9 November, the fair will offer both design professionals and enthusiasts an insight into the latest collections from leading international and regional design brands.

The Shape of Things to Come: This multi-media exhibition will showcase work from local architects and designers as they explore how individuals will live, work and play in a post-pandemic future. The show will be located in building 4, Dubai Design District (d3), but don’t worry if you’re can’t be there in person, you can find digital exclusives on Downtown Design’s Instagram channel - @downtowndesignd Virtual Design Talks: Downtown Design’s acclaimed talks programme goes digital too, featuring a plethora of industry experts including Pallavi Dean, who chairs the AHEAD MEA judging panel. Take a look at the full line up here.

Visit www.downtowndesign.com to find out more and add event the event to your calendar here.