Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec) has purchased online ticket portal boxofficeme.com from Arab Media Group effective immediately.

Boxofficeme sold more than 100,000 tickets for 162 events in 2010 and since commencement of operations in 2004, has handled ticket sales for some of the world’s biggest music and dance acts such as Robbie Williams, Shakira, Elton John, 50 Cent, Destiny Child, Nancy Ajram and Creamfields Abu Dhabi. Boxofficeme has also ticketed Broadway productions such as Mamma Mia, Chicago and Stomp and regional sports events such as Dubai Rugby 7s, Capitala Tennis and the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix.

“Our purchase of www.boxofficeme.com provides Adnec with an established regional brand in the online ticketing business as well as access to what is widely believed to be the largest event-related consumer database in the UAE,” said Humaid Al Dhaheri, Adnec chief sales & marketing officer.

“As such, this is a step forward in Adnec’s strategy to set up a world class ticketing operation in support of Abu Dhabi’s ambitious plans for the live events sector.”

In addition to re-branding www.boxofficeme.com, Adnec has invested in a fully integrated, web-based, ticketing system which allows customers to reserve individual seats online and provides the facility for tickets to be printed at home.

“Besides supporting public events at Adnec venues, Boxofficeme will continue to ticket concerts, sports, theatre and cultural events at venues around the Gulf region, offering a compelling alternative to the traditional manual ticket operations of the region” added Al Dhaheri.

Adnec is also developing on-site, fully serviced box-office outlets at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and Al Ain Convention Centre, to support its online ticketing operation.-TradeArabia News Service