BRIDGE Summit is bringing together the creator economy, media, tech, marketing, and more. Here’s what you need to know about its programming tracks.

In just two weeks, the first ever BRIDGE Summit–in partnership with major platforms and brands like Meta, X, LinkedIn, Sony, Canva, Time, and Forbes–will welcome 60,000 attendees to Abu Dhabi’s ADNEC Centre. Among them will be Fortune 500 CEOs, government representatives and policymakers, investors, humanitarian foundations, academics–and, of course, content creators.

The three-day conference (which, for those who can’t attend IRL, will be streamed in full on X) is meant to be a place where “the future of media, entertainment, culture, and technology meets power, policy, and capital on one bridge,” organizers say.

In practice, that means a packed-full schedule offering “inspiring talks and keynote speeches,” “mind-opening panel discussions,” workshops, masterclasses, and roundtables from more than 400 expert speakers, plus 300+ exhibitions, new product launches, and innovation showcases.

“Through BRIDGE Summit, our ambition is to build a global arena where the meaning of media is not confined to a single track–it expands to encompass every sector that defines today’s content economy,” Dr. Jamal Al Kaabi, Vice Chairman of BRIDGE, said in a statement. “From journalism and broadcasting to digital platforms, social media, film, music, and technology–each track converges and intersects to create new opportunities for growth, investment, and influence.”

To help attendees navigate its wealth of programming, BRIDGE Summit has divided everything into three themed days and seven content tracks.

• Day 1, Dec. 8, is themed Landscape, asking What is the state of media and entertainment?
• Day 2, Dec. 9, is Vision, asking How is the ecosystem being reimagined?,
• and Day 3, Dec. 10, is Blueprint, asking What strategies and steps will take us into media’s next era?

The content tracks are where BRIDGE Summit’s multi-industry is most apparent. Here at Tubefilter, we’ve covered plenty of creator events (and even put on some ourselves), but BRIDGE Summit is wrapping creators into a larger landscape that also covers traditional media, music, gaming, and more.

Here’s a rundown of BRIDGE Summit‘s seven tracks, including topics they’ll spotlight and must-see speakers who will share their insights, strategies, and goals for the future.

MEDIA

Spotlight topics:

• Newsrooms
• Social Platforms
• Story Formats
• Audience Dynamics
• Distribution Models

Must-see speakers:

• Princess Lamia bint Majid Al Saud, Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies
• entrepreneur and tech/digital marketing veteran Gary Vaynerchuk
• actor, entrepreneur, & philanthropist Idris Elba
• actor, producer, & entrepreneur Priyanka Chopra Jones
• Vox Media co-founder, CEO, and Chair Jim Bankoff

CREATOR ECONOMY

Spotlight topics:

• Revenue Streams
• Brand Deals
• Platform Tools
• Creator Agencies
• Fan Subscriptions

Must-see speakers:

• YouTuber Alan Chikin Chow, who’s been topping viewership charts with his Alan’s Universe series
• Fidias Panayiotou, a YouTuber who was elected to the European Parliament in 2024
• YouTuber Michelle Khare
• Max Reisinger, co-founder and CEO of Creator Camp
• UTA’s Ziad Ahmed, Head of Next Gen, and Darnell Strom, Head of Europe

MUSIC

Spotlight topics:

• Digital Production
• Streaming Economies
• Fan Communities
• Rights & Royalties
• AI Composers

Must-see speakers:

• Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, who’s also Chief Creative Officer at OpenWay
• Donna Budica, COO & co-founder at Ten2 Media
• TikToker and clarinet player Raphaël Froissart
• Tobias Hoss, SVP of Operations at Lunar X (the Berlin-based company that acquired Theorist)
• Imad Mesdoua, Director of Government Affairs MENA at Spotify

GAMING

Spotlight topics:

• Esports Arenas
• Virtual Worlds
• Interactive Play
• Modding Culture
• Game Economies

Must-see speakers:

• Chris Jacquemin, Head of Digital Strategy at WME
• Brendan Greene, aka PlayerUnknown, former developer of PUBG: Battlegrounds and currently CCO at PlayerUnknown Productions
• Amazon Web Services’ Lead of Media & Entertainment, Games & Sports, MENAT, Dave Mace
• Mac Reynolds, CEO of Night Street Games and manager of the band Imagine Dragons
• Cathy Hackl, CEO at Future Dynamics

TECH

Spotlight topics:

• AI Models
• Generative Tools
• Mixed Reality
• Automation
• Data Futures

Must-see speakers:

• Reddit co-founder turned investor Alexis Ohanian
• Binance CEO Richard Teng
• Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy
• Dr. Ling Ge, Tencent’s Chief European Officer & Managing Director of Investments & Strategy
• Nikhil Kolar, VP of Microsoft AI

MARKETING

Spotlight topics:

• Performance Ads
• Story-driven Brands
• Consumer Insights
• Omni-channels
• Influencer Playbooks

Must-see speakers:

• Shadi Kandil, TikTok’s General Manager for Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Central and South Asia
• Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. Cosmetics
• David Freeman, Global Head of Digital Media at CAA
• IBM’s Sarah Meron, Chief of Corporate Affairs & Brand Officer
• football journalist Fabrizio Romano

PICTURE

Spotlight topics:

• Cinematic Tech
• Short-form Videos
• Streaming Originals
• Immersive Visuals
• Cross-media Stories

Must-see speakers:

• Actor & producer Osric Chau
• Director & producer Adel Adib
• Sanford Climan, CEO of Entertainment Media Ventures
• Roman Shimansky, CEO of Yango Play
• Rami Imam, Director, producer, & founder at Think Big Media Productions

Obviously this is only a small handful of the 400+ speakers attending BRIDGE Summit, but we hope these selections will give you an idea of the caliber of talent and innovation that will be present at the event.

If you’re interested in attending BRIDGE Summit this year, you can apply here. If you’re interested in exhibiting, you can apply here.

As we mentioned above, those who can’t make it to Abu Dhabi still have the chance to experience BRIDGE Summit up close. The summit has secured a partnership with X, and will use that platform to livestream various elements of programming during all three days of the event.

Stay tuned–we’ll have more details on that soon!

 

BRIDGE Summit is a Tubefilter partner.