The new three-day Festival will be co-managed and staged by the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and their partner Motivate Publishing, the region's leading magazine and book publisher, and will bring to the region a series of high-profile seminars and other initiatives aimed at giving creative inspiration, learning and networking opportunities to the advertising and communications people working in the region. The Festival will culminate in the Dubai Lynx Awards.

Commenting on the appointment, Festival CEO Philip Thomas said, 'Steve has not only driven the commercial revenues for the business but has also come to understand the complex workings of running a Festival. His Cannes Lions knowledge will stand him in good stead as he develops the Dubai event from this year's highly successful Lynx Awards into a full-blown Festival, modelled on Cannes and rivalling any regional festival in the world.'

Mohamed Al Mulla, Director, Dubai Media City said, 'We are delighted to hear of Steve Lane's appointment as Festival Director of the Dubai International Advertising Festival and will be giving the whole team our full support in the build-up to the first event in 2008.'

'Having witnessed the incredible support and enthusiasm that the first Dubai Lynx Awards received from the industry, I'm immensely excited about taking up this challenging role' said the newly appointed Steve Lane. 'It will be an honour to organise a great event for the region', continued Steve.

Steve, who has been with Cannes Lions for three years, will be based in Dubai and will take up his new role on the 1st of August 2007.

Around 1700 entries competed at the first Dubai Lynx Awards, held in association with the UAE chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), in the Direct, Print, Outdoor, TV/Cinema, Interactive, Radio and Integrated categories. A total of 111 Dubai Lynx trophies were awarded by 25 top international judges.