The 1 Billion Followers Summit, billed as the world’s largest gathering for content creators, will take place in Dubai from January 9–11, 2026. The event will span three venues; the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, the Museum of the Future and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The event aims to bring together creators, investors and industry leaders under the theme “Content for Good.”

The agenda of the summit

The summit will introduce the world’s largest award for AI-generated short films, offering a $1 million prize in partnership with Google’s Gemini AI. The top 10 finalists will be screened during the event and judged on storytelling, creativity, execution and alignment with the summit’s humanitarian mission.

The Creators Ventures Programme will receive 50 million dirhams (approximately USD 13.6 million) to support content creators, start-ups and entrepreneurs. The initiative includes the Content Creators Accelerator in collaboration with Creators HQ and 500 Global, offering mentorship, funding and investor pitching opportunities.

For the first time, the summit will feature a Content Creation Companies Pavilion, providing exhibition space for roughly 100 SMEs and creative start-ups. The pavilion is designed to showcase innovative work, facilitate partnerships and elevate early-stage creators into entrepreneur roles.

Global ambassadors joining the summit

Organized by the UAE Government Media Office under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the event will showcase speakers whose combined social media following exceeds three billion. Preparatory sessions have already engaged CEOs from major platforms, creators and media companies to shape discussions on AI, monetization, misinformation and creative storytelling.

Five global ambassadors have been named for the summit:

  • Simon Squibb, entrepreneur and founder of HelpBnk
  • Alexandra Mary Hirschi (“Supercar Blondie”), with over 100 million followers
  • Khalid Al Ameri, Emirati storyteller
  • Omar Farooq, creator behind the “Omar Tries” series
  • Ammar Kandil, co-founder of Yes Theory

These figures will help represent the summit’s focus on creativity, positive storytelling and cultural exchange. The 2026 edition builds on the momentum of January’s summit, which brought together more than 15,000 creators, 420 speakers and 125 global experts, generating over 1.5 billion digital interactions and 542 million social media views.