Creative Technology (CT) was this year's official communications partner for the Mai Dubai City Half Marathon, which took place Friday 23rd October at Dubai International Financial District. The event which saw more than 400 runners from over 40 countries take part was the first mass-running event to take place in the UAE since the start of the pandemic in March.
With a range of innovative measures in place to ensure the safety of all participants, this year's marathon was able to have three different race categories ranging from 5km, 10km and 21km.
Adding to the events safety protocols, CT provided site-wide communication to support the event organisers across the 21km site. This enabled seamless communication between the event organisers and their teams while adhering to all social distancing parameters and guidelines.
As the UAE government make tentative steps to legally allow Live Events to take place in a safe and controlled environment, it is essential now more than ever to set an example and show the world that live events can be safe. The Mai Dubai City Half Marathon organisers have done precisely that with support from Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Police and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), they have organised and produced a successful, safe live sporting event.
CT's Middle East integrated networks technical manager, Rob Turner comments, "As physical events start back up we are seeing an increase in demand for communication systems. What once was an afterthought on an event is now at the forefront of everyone's mind as people become more conscious to carefully manage people's movements." He continues, "Our communication systems are helping clients provide a safe solution for event crew and delegates to communicate while adhering to socially distancing guidelines."
"Promoseven sports marketing (PSM) extend an acknowledgement of our appreciation for the professional support given by Creative Technology in providing Communication services at the highest level in compliance to the social distancing parameters in place to stage the Mai Dubai City Half Marathon." -Shaun Ollier, PSM event organiser.
"It was great to be able to deliver an event in the current climate and the feedback from runners has been extremely positive. The radio system was excellent - even in such a built-up area - and allowed the key staff within the team to stay in contact to ensure the safe delivery of road closures and the effective management of our runners through the socially-distanced event site and across the race route." - Andy Mitchelmore, More Events.