AHEAD, the Awards for Hospitality Experience and Design, organised by Sleeper Media and supported by Global Founder Sponsor, Grohe, has opened for entries in the Middle East and Africa region.

The awards cover a range of categories, with F&B-related ones including Bar, Club or Lounge and Restaurant.

In order to be eligible, submitted projects must be located within the MEA region and have opened or reopened between January 2019 and February 2020.

The deadline for entries is Thursday 30 April and these can be created online via the AHEAD website.

Last year’s winners include Warehouse at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, which won the Bar, Club or Lounge category; and Lah Lah at Zabeel House by Jumeirah, Dubai, which won best Restaurant.

Prior to this in 2018, Flair No.5 at The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC Dubai took home the prize for Bar, Club or Lounge, and Little Miss India at Fairmont The Palm, Dubai for Restaurant.

After being carefully selected by an expert panel of judges, winners will be announced at the AHEAD MEA ceremony, scheduled to take place on Monday 9 November at Caesars Forum, Bluewaters Island in Dubai.

The results will also be published across AHEAD and Sleeper’s websites and will feature on our digital media partner Dezeen’s website and newsletter.

To purchase early bird tickets for the ceremony, head to AHEAD’s booking page.

AHEAD covers four regions: Asia, Americas, Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Europe. An annual awards scheme will take place in each region throughout 2019 and 2020. The awards will culminate in an AHEAD Global event set to take place in 2021, which will see the winners of the eight regional heats compete head-to-head to decide a worldwide winner in each category.

www.aheadawards.com