Palme Middle East, the region's largest dedicated trade show for professional audio, lighting, music, entertainment, audio visual and systems integration, will display innovative eco-friendly, energy efficient solutions, said the organisers.

The Middle East’s professional lighting sector is expected to follow the European lead in environmentally-responsible, sustainable solutions, according to industry experts.

“Companies are competing fiercely in the lighting sector to deliver power savings with a variety of new technologies, including micro-plasma lights, high-intensity discharge lighting ballast systems and organic light-emitting diodes, among others,” said Alex Heuff, show director for Palme Middle East.

With 800 brands covering 20,000 sqm of exhibition space and more than 8,000 visitors,the event provides a unique opportunity for key decision makers to get an update on the latest technologies, he added.

“Visitors to Palme Middle East are involved in entertainment, events, shopping malls, commercial and residential developments, and leisure and hotel facilities. They are now more environmentally conscious than ever and mindful not only of the impending green building standards, but their own corporate social responsibility,” commented Heuff.

With a global lighting market worth around $75 billion, lighting consumes about a fifth of all power generated. Since its invention over 100 years ago, the incandescent light bulb has dominated lighting though it converts only about 15 per cent of electricity into light. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a more efficient but their light is less pleasing to the eye and they contain mercury, a toxin that makes disposal and recycling problematic.

“Around the world, the industry is turning to light-emitting diodes as an eco-friendly alternative combining the pleasant quality of incandescent light with the energy efficiency of fluorescent LED technology is well developed for uses like billboards but a recent study showed that its use for indoor lighting in the US would lead to power savings equal to the output from 27 one-gigawatt power plants,” Heuff remarked.

Right now, LEDs are primarily made by lighting subsidiaries of companies like Philips but companies that make computer chips may enter lighting.

Even more efficient and environmentally friendly organic LED systems are also on the horizon, Heuff added. “They can not only be used in television screens and computer displays but as light sources for general space illumination and large-area light-emitting elements. A significant benefit of OLED displays is that they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery, can operate longer on the same charge.”

“Indeed a host of exciting projects are ear-marked for the UAE such as Tamweer’s 100 metre LED Media Facade. The Podium’s LED screen consists of a series of LED fixtures arranged on individual panels, which are mounted section by section on to the contour of a building’s facade. To achieve the highest visual quality, Dactronics will utilise concealed fasteners that will allow for a translucent effect, while the water-tight connectors resist corrosive water penetration,” added Heuff.

Now in its seventh year, Palme Middle East promises to have more exhibitors and visitors than ever next year.  The 2009 show, which will consist of four key show segments:  Palme, professional audio and lighting; Install, systems integration; Event 360, for event organisers and suppliers for the Middle East’s event industry; Musac, professional DJ and musical instruments exhibition.

In addition there are the Middle East Event Industry Awards and Middle East Lighting Design Awards (Melda) - galas which recognise outstanding achievement in the event and lighting sectors in the Gulf Co-operation Council countries. Melda, a unique celebration of innovation and design excellence, will host over 250 of th