AEG Live has announced the appointment of Thomas Ovesen to run its Middle Eastern operations. It's an appointment that should give AEG a real boost in the region, because he is the former GM of Mirage Promotions, and in that job was behind a string of high profile concerts in the Middle East featuring Western artists. The live music major will also hope Ovesen will enable them to take on main rival Live Nation in the region - they recently expanded their influence in the Middle East by taking a stake in Mirage.
Confirming his new AEG job, and the increasing importance of the region he will oversee, Ovesen told Billboard: "Whilst the region was, until a few years back, pretty insignificant regarding touring live entertainment, and mainly catered for foreign expats living in Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman, there is now a more sophisticated trend emerging, in particular for events going in to Dubai. I believe the future is here".
AEG Live top man Randy Phillips adds: "Having a presence in that region is very important to us in terms of growth and finance opportunities. What we do is invest in people. We try to hire the best people. This company was built in investing in individual and giving them the tools and resources to grow the business. In Thomas we saw someone who was ready to leave that Mirage womb and branch out and build his own business".
So, expect lots more Western artists to be adding Middle East dates on their tour schedules in the coming years. Let's just hope they're all aware of those UAE drugs laws that Grooverider fell foul of.