The third annual Men of the Year awards honoured 12 months of Middle Eastern talent scoring huge successes on a global stage.
GQ Middle East staged its showpiece Men of the Year awards in Dubai last night, framed by the iconic silhouette of Dubai Opera and hosted by the Emmy-nominated journalist (and former GQ Middle East cover star) Ahmed Shihab-Eldin.
Celebrating the successes of Middle East and global talent, the awards – in partnership with Samsung Galaxy and supported by Chivas, Infiniti, and Mr Porter – welcomed an international guest list to the prestigious Dubai Opera Promenade. Meanwhile, fantastic live performances by Moroccan pop sensation ABIR, Jordanian superstar Issam Alnajjar, and DJ sets by Diamond S and Karrouhat were the backdrop to both the awards and the after party.
“I’m honoured to celebrate the amazing talent from the region that has gone global in 2021,” said Marne Schwartz, Managing Director, ITP Media Group. “The world has suffered unprecedented hardships in the last 24 months, and it’s been inspiring to see the creative every in our part of the word, and beyond, that has been able to shine a light through it all and towards better days.”
With nine winners hailing from Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the US, the event viewed talent through a lens of future optimism – demonstrated by the rich prism colour scheme. It celebrated the hard work and dedication it took to achieve their dreams, as well as the strength and determination required to push past major obstacles to get there.
“We are delighted to be collaborating with GQ as part of the Men of the Year awards,” said Osman Albora, Senior Director – Mobile Division, Samsung Gulf Electronics. “Aside from showcasing Galaxy Ecosystem flagships, our involvement represents the latest opportunity for us to support the region’s fastest-rising stars in their fields and highlight how they channel innovation to bring projects to life, which is a unique characteristic we have always encouraged at Samsung.”
The official winners of the evening included Adam Barki as Breakthrough Actor, Mohamed Karim as Supporting Actor, Issam Alnajjar as Breakthrough Musician, Youssef Nabil as Artist, Meshal Al Jaser as Filmmaker, Swizz Beatz as Tailblazer with his wife Alicja Keys in attendance to watchi Swizz Beatz receive his awards, Amina Muaddi as Entrepreneur, Annabella Hilal as Media Personality, and Lil Nas X as International Musician – the final three being Samsung awardees.
The GQ Middle East Men of the Year awards 2021 was in Partnership with Samsung Galaxy and featured print covers of Lil Nas X, Adam Bakri, and Amina Muaddi captured #withGalaxy S21 Ultra.
The GQ Middle East Men of The Year issue is out now.