LONDON: As the Middle East navigates a delicate diplomatic moment and the world races to keep up with technological change, CNN is bringing its new flagship live event to Doha to make sense of it all.
Global Perspectives, now set for Oct. 29 after being postponed because of regional conflict, will gather “important, influential, often quite disparate voices” to step back from the day‑to‑day and consider the bigger picture.
“Whether we’re talking about technology, the environment, culture, politics, education, sport — you name it — we’re at an inflection point in human history as we get to grips with rapid and often seismic change,” Ellana Lee, CNN global head of productions, told Arab News.
The series brings CNN’s journalism and expert analysis to the stage, combining the network’s day‑to‑day expertise with its global reach and the flexibility of hosting its own events.
“For us, the chance to take those elements and bring them into the live events space offers something unique, both for us and for our audiences,” said Lee. “It draws a connecting line between so many of the things that CNN excels at, and allows us to curate our own program, on our own terms.”
Organized in partnership with Media City Qatar at Rosewood Doha, the event will see top CNN journalists — including Christiane Amanpour, Richard Quest, Becky Anderson and Bijan Hosseini — share the stage with regional and global leaders such as Mohammed Saif Al‑Sowaidi, CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority; Alex Mashrabov, CEO of Higgsfield AI; Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN; and Egyptian‑Swiss actress and singer Yasmina El-Abd.
After successful events in London and Bangkok — spotlighting Africa’s role in a changing world and Asia’s socio‑economic and cultural rise — the Doha event will examine how the Gulf is shaping the next chapter of global economic power, technological innovation and cultural influence.
“In Doha we’ll be examining the notion of an ‘invisible world’,” Lee said. “That’s about the forces quietly reshaping global society, the systems that keep the world turning, who controls attention in today’s fast‑moving communications environment, and what it is to be human in the midst of an almost unprecedented technological revolution.”
The appetite for invitation‑only events aimed at global decision‑makers is clear. The global meetings market grew 22 percent in 2025, while the Middle East grew 45 percent, according to the International Congress and Convention Association.
Yet it remains a crowded field.
In recent years, several flagship events have sought to scale up their footprint in the region. The FT Global Affairs and Business Council held one of its four events in Dubai in early September — itself rescheduled because of regional tensions — while the World Economic Forum has regularly hosted events in the Middle East, most recently debuting a gathering in Dubai focused on artificial intelligence, economic growth and regional stability.
Riyadh is also set to host a regular high‑level WEF meeting, although the first — the 2026 Global Collaboration and Growth Meeting in Jeddah — had to be postponed in light of regional developments.
The Kingdom also hosts the Future Investment Forum, a multi‑continent summit often dubbed “Davos in the Desert,” which marks its 10th edition at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh at the end of October.
James Hunt, CNN’s senior vice president, head of client solutions and business lead for global perspectives, said that despite growing competition, CNN remained uniquely placed.
“Bringing these conversations to a live audience felt like a natural extension of what we’re already doing,” Hunt told Arab News. “We have also been very encouraged by the support and interest from our clients and partners around the world, many of whom are interested in extending their campaigns with us into the live environment.”
While the event is planned and produced as live broadcasts, it will not air live on CNN’s linear channel. Instead, it will stream on YouTube and CNN’s new direct‑to‑consumer product, All Access, alongside special interviews and regular CNN coverage.
Hunt said this gave sponsors a combined benefit, including branding at the event, presence in the room, inclusion in marketing materials and alignment with content seen by CNN’s global audience.
“Combining this with CNN’s unrivaled ability to get access to the world’s most influential people, we think gives us a very strong market proposition and USP,” Hunt added.
Global Perspectives, postponed after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran and the subsequent escalation of regional events, builds on more than 25 years of CNN’s relationship with Qatar. It also follows the network’s recent opening of a new operational center with Media City Qatar, part of its broader global and regional content strategy.
“A key factor was our new facility in Doha, which is a significant investment for us and gives us a base from which to coordinate the event, as well as resources and expertise on the ground,” Lee said. “When we were forced to postpone our original date, we always did so with the idea that it would be rescheduled as soon as possible.”
Abu Dhabi, however, remains CNN’s regional bureau, both editorially and commercially, with Global Perspectives positioned as an addition to the network’s programming – one that Hunt said would form the base for similar events.
“We have very ambitious plans for the Global Perspectives franchise, and can confirm we will be back in Doha in 2027,” he said. “Beyond that, we’re exploring a number of locations around the world for next year’s calendar.” He said the ambition was to host a series of regular regional summits, experimenting with different formats and scales.
The idea, Lee continued, was that all of these remain true to the concept of Global Perspectives and harness CNN’s “unique reach and role as a global news organization.”
“At CNN we’re in the fortunate position of having our fingers on the pulse of the world at every single moment of every day, and that gives us a deep sense of what is important to people,” she said.
It was no coincidence, she added, that in an era when many international newsrooms were closing or scaling back regional bureaus, CNN had moved in the opposite direction in the Middle East.
“CNN’s history in the Middle East is deeply ingrained in our company culture,” Lee said. “The network made its name internationally with our coverage of the first Gulf War, but we have spent decades building on that with a rich variety of programming.
“As we know all too well from recent months, this region is pivotal to the global economy. But it is also home to a youthful, highly educated, deeply engaged and rapidly changing population. We are excited by the future of this region, and we intend to be part of that.”
