LEAP | notes & tips for a successful event
Gwen Edwards
Bexprt CMO ? King's Award for Enterprise 2024 ? AWS Rising Star Consulting Partner MENA 2024 ? UK Export Champion
Planning on going to LEAP or DeepFest AI in Riyadh this February?
Not quite sure what to expect?
Been before, but maybe want to double check your list against mine?!
This will be my 3rd time exhibiting at LEAP, all with AWS in hall 1, and on the UK Pavilion. I’ve exhibited many times at major global tech events (CES, MWC, Computex and many more)… and LEAP, well, this is by far the most chaotic event I've ever exhibited at! A lot of things in Saudi are last minute, but LEAP is very extra in the 'last minute game'. The good news is, so far, every year, it has all worked out on the day! Remaining open to change, and spotting and acting on opportunities, are core skills for successful people in tech - there are some things though that are useful to be aware of in advance, and hopefully my notes below will help you.
I’m a UK Export Champion, a voluntary role working with the Department for Business and Trade team supporting UK companies export more, signposting resources and connecting the dots where I can! I’m CMO at Bexprt , a UK HQ’d cloud and AI services company with a successful subsidiary in Riyadh ( The King's Awards for Enterprise for International Trade 2024, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) Rising Star Consulting Partner MENA 2024).
What would you add to this list?
Disclaimer: All views are my own, and I will endeavour to correct any inadvertent errors. Please check the latest updates on the official LEAP website and all official emails, as their info can be quite dynamic!
1. Logistics
1.1 Check those dates
In previous years the event has started on a Monday. This year? Sunday.
Sunday 9th February to Wednesday 12th.
And that's not all.....
1.2 Check those times
Big changes for opening and access times compared with previous years.
Exhibitor passes: 8am - 10pm (you'll need an Exhibitor's pass), plus access before Sunday. (If you're just dropping stuff off and checking implementation, I would wait until after 2pm Saturday.)
Visitor & Other Passes: 12 noon - 9pm . But, see image below, which differentiates between the free visitor passes, and conference attendees,
"If you hold a Visitor Pass, you can enter the venue at 1 PM, if you a hold a Delegate, Leader, Investor, Speaker, Bronze, or Premium pass, you can enter the venue from 12 PM."
1.3 Check your personal and business info on the LEAP app
Install the LEAP app on your phone, login, and check the data they have for you. If you've been to this event previously, it will rollover last year's data.
You can change the notification settings in the app: bottom right click on the person icon > settings > email notifications
The app will probably have a few updates between now and the event - check you have the latest version installed.
To mitigate lack of coverage, and ensure physical access to the carparks and the event itself, I always take a screen shot of the QR code "badge".
If you're the lead Marketing contact, please check all of your team are assigned to your company.... if not, email [email protected] and [email protected] and request they fix it. That might take a couple of cycles to get the fix you seek. (I'm trying to sort out ongoing issues right now, and have been assigned edit rights to 2 incorrect businesses so far....hoping to have edit rights for Bexprt soon!)
The app has integrated "lead scanning" capability for everyone, enabling everyone to scan all the QR code badges. This year you can add notes, and should be able to export it all as a .xls file.
The last couple of years, there were places inside the venue you could get the badge physically printed, but most people just seemed to keep the badge on their phones.
1.4 Make a plan on how to get to and from LEAP
The journey to this show is like no other.
Same location: yep, still way out in the desert, same location as last year.....
Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center Malham, Saudi Arabia
So expect the same crazy traffic. (There's Riyadh-crazy, and then LEAP takes it to a whole new level.)
If you've not been before, please make a plan now for how you will get there and back. Last year, it took some of my colleagues over 2 hours just to get out of the car park, plus the 2 or 3+ hours drive back to the city. (And it's just as bad if not worse to get there in the morning.) It's very hard to predict how the changed start and end times will impact traffic.
Do not expect to be able to get an Uber or Bolt there, or back!
UPDATE 8Feb25 from LEAP official email: "If you are booking a Careem to get to LEAP, use code: LEAP25 for a discount on your journey." (Careem is "everything app" with an Uber-like service... so it seems at least Careem will operate to Malham this year! Suggest you book in advance if you can.) https://www.careem.com/
There are no public transport options.
There are no hotels anywhere near this venue.
Update 3rd February, info from LEAP, for Exhibitors with their own Exhibitor Shuttle Bus,
"Before the event (1-7 February, 2025)
?? Vehicle access & parking permit (VAPP): Required for exhibitor shuttle buses. Pick up your VAPP from the CP1 parking office (Al-Qassim Road, Falcon Entrance).
?? CP1 parking: Open 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM. Only exhibitor shuttle buses with a VAPP are allowed.
?? Bus station: Drop-off & pick-up only—no parking or staging. Private cars cannot enter via Thumama Road.
During show days (9-12 February, 2025)
?? Shuttle service: Exhibitor shuttle buses operate via Thumama Road 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM (VAPP required).
?? Exhibitor parking (CP1): Open 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM, accessible with an exhibitor badge. Personal cars allowed, but no shuttling.
??? Golf carts: 70 golf carts available to transport exhibitors from parking to venue gates, running 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM.
?? Arrival time: Exhibitor Pass holders can enter from 8:00 AM daily.
Plan your transport for a smooth experience. Download the LEAP app to access your digital badge and organise your schedule."
(How do I solve this? Luckily, I have local colleagues who kindly give me a lift.)
What impact will the new later start-times have? Hopefully that will help spread out the peak entry and exit time, but honestly, it's really hard to know if it will smooth it out or make it worse.
If you're an exhibitor, will it be worthwhile going in the morning to meet with other exhibitors? Or, will everyone just attempt to turn up for 11:30? Really hard to predict!
Good luck to all of us!
1.5 eVisa's & airport
As a UK passport holder, I've found the Saudi eVisa process to be very straightforward, efficient and fast - this year, I received mine on the same day that I applied.
...and there is a long list of supported countries on that site.
I always print out my Visa, and save a pdf copy on my phone - just de-risks everything.
At the airport, sometimes they split out arriving passengers that those who have visited before, and sometimes everyone gets jumbled in together. The border control desk will take a photo and fingerprint biometrics, and for the last 2 years, we've received a special LEAP stamp in the passport.
Update 8Feb25: I was last in Riyadh in Oct, and it's changed! New eGates for those with a visa that has been used before. (The question staffed asked late last night was a little confusing: is this your first visa? I have had many evisa's for KSA before, my current one was renewed a week ago..... this was the first time I was travelling on THIS visa, I couldn't use the eGates. Literally: has the active visa been used before? if yes go to eGate, if no, get in the?other?queue!)
From the airport it's very simple to get an airport taxi, or Bolt or Uber to the hotel. Almost all taxi drivers will speak English. If a colleague is meeting you, when you step outside check what number is on the nearest massive pillar and let them know.
1.6 Money, calls, data
A little cash is always useful for porters, but in general, everything is paid for with mobile / contactless payment.
What'sApp voice and video calls aren't supported, but you can ping pong voice messages back and forth. Microsoft Teams calls are supported.
Mobile network coverage in Riyadh is generally very good, and there is always WiFi in shopping malls and at the airport. There are (were) a few black spots on the main highway to LEAP; they do add significant extra network capacity at LEAP, but like most massive tech exhibitions, there will be times when messages are delayed. The WiFi at LEAP has been a little unreliable at times in the past.
1.7 What to pack?
For those of us travelling from the grey, wet and cold UK, the weather should be a really very pleasant mid 20 degrees centigrade in Riyadh.
Your most comfortable shoes (whatever keeps you smiling all day).
But more than your feet, think about your legs as you'll be on your feet all day apart from those 4 hours in the car of course). My secret weapon is always support socks (compression socks) or support tights. And get practicing standing up now! So much of or time is spent sat down these days, try and get more standing up time in the days and weeks before hand.
SUNGLASSES: that bright light is quite a shock for those arriving from a European winter.
Ladies, if you're worried about what to wear, this is how I select what to pack,
- Sleeves below the elbow, keep the neckline near my collarbone, and either trousers or dresses and skirts below the knee
- A jacket/blazer at events, always useful for phones, business cards and pens, and there is aircon everywhere.
- Scarf: no need to cover your head or wear a scarf, but I will take a couple of silk scarves to be respectful (and, carefully pinned, they can solve any neckline issues you might be worried about).
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- Support socks (compression socks) or support tights. (If you're aching from standing all day, a pillow under your feet at night works wonders too.)
- Many local women will wear very comfortable trainers.
Really not that different to what I would wear to a work event in the UK. If you are worried about what to wear, do feel free to dm me and we can have an informal chat.
Men: you will see a wide variety of clothing styles. Many local people from across the Gulf will wear their formal national dress. Whilst the 'tech uniform of jeans and a branded t-shirt' is common, you will also see a lot of men in a suit with no tie, or smart trousers, shirt and jacket.... most typically, all will wear trainers.
Generalisations are hard!
And then, I'll pack any exhibition kit,
The hotels in Riyadh are good, and the supermarkets and shopping malls will have anything I forget. Buy water etc for the team, and re-stock the exhibition cupboard daily.
2. Marketing malarkey
3. The event
3.1 Getting in
OK, let's ignore the elephant in the room - how to get there and back through the desert! As if by magic, we've parked up.
At LEAP, so far, we've had exhibition pods on someone else's exhibition stand: AWS, and the UK Pavilion. I would normally plan to do the setup the day before the show opens: drop off any kit and goodies, check screens, meet the other marketing teams doing the same thing, thank the stand-builder, take short videos for the rest of the team to address FAQs.... but with the complexity of getting to LEAP, plus the 2025 12-noon "opening time" on day 1, I am thinking about doing the setup on day 1, Sunday morning.
If you do want to get in the day before, on Saturday, you'll need an Exhibitor's Pass - check your app is showing this. If not, ping <[email protected]>
There can be quite a hike from the car park to the entrance at Hall 1. (For the last 2 years the exhibitors were in the furthest car park from the entrance, way way beyond Hall 4, and we weren't allowed to drop off boxes of goodies and water bottles, but had to walk in with them. And for some reason the path from the exhibitors car park seemed to require us to walk through a hole in a metal fence to get to the nearest door half way along Hall 1......)
And maybe not all the venue doors are open. (The furthest one will be!)
OK, that part of the adventure has been successfully navigated, you're at the door: security will scan your QR code from the LEAP app, you're in!
It's worthwhile using that 2 hour journey in the car to get familiar with the event layout, as there aren't a huge number of physical maps or signposts. There is a map in the digital app (but no navigation in 2024).
The food festival area is outside in the open air.
The conference is in the red block (it's huge), top left corner of Hall 1A.
3.1 Plan ahead
The last 2 years there have been issues with long queues for food.
And even longer ones for the gents toilets (45 minutes+).
Hopefully this year things will be better!
The distances between Halls is significant, and the event has been very crowded in previous years. As with meetings at any major exhibition, it is helpful, if you can, to group all Hall X meetings together in the same half day then; and if that's not possible, block out at least 20 to 30 minutes to get from one end of the site to the other.
We try to have multi-packs of water for the team on the exhibition pod, and protein bars are very useful. (Pop into the supermarket near your hotel, there is nothing on the highway after you leave the city on the way to the event.... even fuel stations are very hard to find!)
Know your neighbours: if I can, I try to discover who is "next-door" to our spot on the exhibition stand. What do they do? Who will be there? You will often end up helping each other out during setup, and taking photos for each other during the event.
3.2 What's harder than being nice all day?
LEAP is effectively open to the public. Everyone has to pre-register, but, like CES, anyone can visit. You'll quickly become a pro at identifying students (it seems they may not be permitted on day 1?)
Being nice all day is hard.
Being nice all day for four days is difficult.
Being nice all day and all night for 4 days is impossible!
My tip: with the revised opening times, and crazy-busy unpredictable traffic, think carefully about the hours you want your team to cover. Think about an early and late shift? Work out who (genuinely) needs to be at customer dinners and events in the city in the evenings (they may need to leave at 3 or 4). Don't break your team on day 1! Be aware of when your busy times are likely to be, and factor in some escape time for everyone.
3.3 Signing ceremonies
Signing Ceremonies are very significant in Saudi.
If you have a significant deal or announcement to make, often your Country Pavilion or Embassy team will be able to support you with a senior person for the photo, and will be genuinely interested in celebrating your success. If you're a UK business, and if you're not already connected to the fabulous Department for Business and Trade team, feel free to get in touch with me asap and I'll connect you. If you're exhibiting with another major organisation (as we are with AWS, and the UK Pavilion), they will often have a dedicated section of the stand with ceremonial flags for the signing photo.
If you're flying solo and need a professional photographer they are available to hire near the Press Area.
3.4 Meetings, competitors & research
LEAP delivers a wide mixture of encounters! Some pre-arranged customer meetings and leads, but far more great meetings and ad hoc conversations with Partners about new opportunities and projects. It's also a great place to "walk the floor" and understand more about your competitors' propositions, do some benchmarking, and perhaps identify areas of future collaboration.
With a huge national emphasis on start-ups, LEAP is a brilliant opportunity to see the direction of development in this very swiftly moving environment, undertake your own "sentiment analysis" of the way this fast moving country is applying different technologies, and understand more about the latest start-up initiatives in KSA.
3.5 Plan ahead, and capture those actions
Whatever method you use to capture actions and leads, make sure the whole team knows in advance, and captures everything. (After some bad experiences at other events, including data being lost, and being sent to competitors, I still don't trust lead capture apps!)
As you'll all be stuck in cars for hours going home, this may be a good time to debrief, or even get those actions started. Any planned meetings that didn't happen? Try to get them rescheduled for the remaining days (or arrange to meet for breakfast in the city).
For the important meetings lined up the next day, I always try to confirm them again the night before, and give details of where to find us, and resolve meeting clashes swiftly.
3.6 Get those photos!
If you're exhibiting on someone else's stand - we're exhibiting with both AWS and the UK Pavilion again this year - find out from their Marketing or PR Lead what VIPs and events they're expecting. They may not know until that morning. Can you support or participate? Do you need to think about adjusting your timeline to avoid a clash?
If you're location is en route to the main conference area, be aware of that agenda, and which VIP speakers and entourage's are likely to be walking through - we've had some great photo opps just from being aware and reacting swiftly.
Make a note of the reference photos you want for next year: want to be in a different location next time? Haven't had chance to see all your customers, partners, former colleagues and competitors? Get it out and about!
And finally
Saudi is a country which is changing very swiftly.
I am fully expecting that this event will be very different and even better than the past 2 years. Everyday will bring something new and unexpected! Also, that the traffic will have increased, and the city's edge will have moved even further north into the desert! And, despite the changes, and surprises, I am certain that the food will be just as great as usual, and the people just as kind.
Can't wait to be there again, see you soon Riyadh!
Promoting the UK tech sector overseas
1 个月Gwen Edwards is an Export Champion, Exhibition Champion, a Marketing Champion and a lovely person to work with. This lady leaves no stone unturned when partipating at an event. Follow the advice and you will reap the reward. #Legend