New research released highlights a growing need among event organisers in the Middle East to expand their use of real-time language support at business events.
The data reveals that nearly half of surveyed business event organisers have never heard of live multilingual captions (45%), and almost a third are unaware of Remote Simultaneous Interpretation (RSI) (28%), despite increasing expectations from attendees..
Despite the region’s thriving international event scene, 40% still do not currently implement RSI at large-scale business events like trade shows or conferences. As global businesses look to invest more in the Middle East, the business environment will, by nature, become increasingly multilingual. The lack of inclusive communication tools could hold events back from reaching their full potential.
The research, commissioned by multilingual event technology provider, Interprefy, has highlighted a gap in awareness and adoption, which could pose a clear threat to accessibility, attendee engagement and brand reputation at major organisations in the Middle East.
Commenting on the results of this research, Oddmund Braaten, CEO at Interprefy, said, “Whether you’re hosting a high-stakes business meeting or a large-scale industry conference, enabling participants to follow and contribute in their own language isn’t just a courtesy, it’s a driver of engagement and effectiveness.
Event attendees expect seamless, native-language access to content, discussions and decisions in every event format. Our research highlights that the demand for real-time multilingual support in the Middle East is growing; therefore, event organisers need to tap into the latest technology to provide attendees with the experience they have come to expect.”
Carried out in May 2025, the research surveyed the views of 387 Middle Eastern decision-makers working in events, marketing, project management and learning and development.
The full research results of Interprefy’s research are published in a report titled ‘Accelerating Global Communication, A Strategic Report for Organisers Delivering Events in APAC and the Middle East.
Understanding how best to deploy multilingual interpretation and live translation services – RSI, AI speech translation, live closed captions and live multilingual captions – to support attendees across a diverse range of events and professional meetings should become a priority as organisations look to meet a fast-growing demand from attendees for real-time multilingual engagement.
Braaten concludes, “Organisations across the Middle East are navigating increasing complexity as the region becomes more deeply embedded in global business networks. As local and international businesses collaborate more closely, event organisers face new communication challenges – particularly when engaging diverse, multilingual audiences.”
Research Methodology:
The research surveyed the views of 387 key decision makers in the Middle East working in events, marketing, project management and learning and development for multinational companies turning over $10m+ per year. Middle Eastern regions included the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.
