Honors include gold wins in nine categories and award for outstanding event production of the year DUBAI: Expo 2020 Dubai, the first world expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, has claimed 29 awards at the global Telly Awards across multiple categories for its opening ceremony. The Expo Dubai Explorer App also won a Gold Telly in the immersive and mixed reality craft-metaverse category. The opening ceremony won gold in nine categories: Immersive and mixed reality craft — use of AR; immersive and mixed reality craft — directing; immersive and mixed reality general — series/show; immersive and mixed reality general — dance and performance; immersive and mixed reality general — events; online craft — videography/cinematography; online craft — use of music; online craft — set design, and online craft — use of 360 audio. It also won 12 silver and eight bronze awards, as well as a special recognition for outstanding event production of the year. Tareq Ghosheh, chief events and entertainment officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “We are incredibly proud of the world-class entertainment we delivered at Expo 2020 Dubai — not just with our opening ceremony, which has been watched virtually by millions across the globe, but also with the continuous 182 days of unparalleled entertainment experiences we tirelessly delivered, with up to 200 live events staged daily across a plethora of world-class venues.” As the world’s biggest event of its kind since the pandemic, Expo 2020 Dubai’s opening ceremony was broadcast to a global audience of millions across multiple channels, including Expo TV and Virtual Expo. As of March 31, 2022, it had been viewed 7.6 million times. Founded in 1979 to honor adverts made for cable and local TV, the Telly Awards updates its categories to include branded content and social video. This season’s theme, “A New POV,” recognizes recent changes through a new focus on hybrid events, immersive and mixed reality, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and social impact. Other winners include ViacomCBS, Warner Bros., Fortune Brand Studio, Sony Music Entertainment, Microsoft, and ESPN.