The 1 Billion Followers Summit, the world’s largest event focused on the creator economy, is returning to Dubai for its fifth edition from 8 to 10 January 2027.
Held under the theme ‘Content for Good’, the three-day event will bring together creators, social media platforms, technology companies, investors and entrepreneurs across Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Museum of the Future.
Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming summit.
When and where is the summit?
The fifth edition will take place from 8–10 January 2027 across three major Dubai locations:
Jumeirah Emirates Towers
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
Museum of the Future
The summit is organised by the UAE Government Media Office and held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
What can visitors expect?
The 2027 edition will be the biggest in the summit’s history, featuring more than 400 speakers with a combined audience of over 4 billion followers.
The programme will explore the future of content creation, artificial intelligence, creator businesses, social media, storytelling, misinformation, intellectual property and new ways for creators to build sustainable businesses.
AI will be a major focus, with discussions covering everything from content creation to campaign management, translation, audience analytics, rights management and tracking commercial returns.
$1 million AI Film Award
One of the biggest attractions will be the second edition of the AI Film Award, with a prize of $1 million (about Dhs 3.67 million).
The award is being organised with BytePlus, the enterprise technology arm of ByteDance, and will use AI-powered video-generation technology as part of the creative process.
Films can be submitted under seven themes:
Science & Discovery
Civilisations & Empires
Culture & Traditions
Inventions & Human Ingenuity
Exploration & Adventure
Turning Points in History
Lost & Forgotten Stories
The competition follows the success of the previous AI Film Award, which attracted more than 30,000 entries from 116 countries.
$100,000 #1MillionStories competition
The summit will also launch the #1MillionStories competition in partnership with TikTok.
Participants will create a TikTok video about a film or TV series that changed their lives and explain why the story mattered to them.
The winner will receive $100,000 (about Dhs 367,000).
TikTok will also host a dedicated LIVE booth, performances and livestreams, while the TikTok LIVE Academy will launch in partnership with Creators HQ.
Instagram Creators Day comes to Dubai
For the first time, the summit will host Instagram Creators Day.
The day-long programme will bring together creators, Instagram executives and industry leaders to discuss emerging trends, community building, standout content and how creators can build sustainable businesses.
Creators Market returns
The Creators Market will return for its second edition, featuring 100 creator-led small and medium-sized businesses.
The initiative gives creator-led companies an opportunity to showcase their products and ideas, connect with potential partners and explore opportunities to establish their businesses in the UAE.
A separate Creators Brand Village, organised with Alfan, will also connect creators with brands and provide opportunities for creators to earn from partnerships.
Who will be there?
The summit’s speaker lineup will include more than 400 creators, business leaders, technology experts and industry figures.
Major platforms and technology companies will also have dedicated spaces featuring discussions, panels and interactive workshops.
Strategic partners include TikTok, X, YouTube, Instagram, Meta and Snapchat, while companies including bilibili, OpenAI, LinkedIn and Google will also participate.
What is the UAE doing to support creators?
The summit forms part of the UAE’s wider push to build a creator economy.
The country has launched a Dhs 150 million Content Creators Support Fund, established Creators HQ, and announced the Dhs 50 million Creators Ventures Accelerator.
Creators HQ now has 5,000 registered members from 130 countries, representing a combined audience of more than 5 billion followers.
The UAE is also home to around 15,000 licensed content creators from more than 90 nationalities.
What happened at the previous summit?
The fourth edition featured more than 580 sessions and 500 global speakers.
It also launched several major creator initiatives, including an Educator Award with TikTok, which generated 320,000 video submissions and 1.8 billion views.
The 1 Billion Acts of Kindness campaign, launched with MrBeast, generated more than 170,000 community actions and 100 million views within three weeks.
The previous edition also featured the first AI Film Award, with filmmaker Zoubeir Jlassi winning for his film Lily.
Why the 2027 summit matters
The 1 Billion Followers Summit has grown beyond a traditional creator event. Its 2027 edition is set to bring together the people and companies shaping how the world creates, watches, shares and monetises content.
With major prizes, AI competitions, creator-business opportunities and participation from the world’s biggest digital platforms, the summit will offer creators and entrepreneurs a closer look at where the global content economy is heading.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
