# Year in Review

> The annual gala. Awards, dinner, entertainment and a room that looks like the company spent real money — because the year deserved it.

Package I-01 from Offsyte, corporate recreation in the UAE · [Ceremony](https://offsyte.ae/catalog/corporate-parties-and-celebrations/) · Web page: https://offsyte.ae/packages/year-in-review/

- **Duration:** 5 hrs
- **Ideal start time:** 18:30 arrival — reception at 19:00, dinner at 20:00, awards at 21:00, close by 23:30
- **Departure window:** 18:00–19:30
- **Group size:** 80 min — 400 max
- **Emirate / venue:** Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah — hotel ballroom
- **Season:** Year-round. Peak demand November–January
- **Booking lead time:** 60 days (90 days for December dates)

## Price per person, excluding 5% VAT

| Group size | Per person | Billed for at least |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| 80–149 people | AED 860 | 111 people |
| 150–299 people | AED 700 | — |
| 300+ people | AED 620 | — |

A group smaller than a band's "billed for at least" figure is still served, and is invoiced for that many people.
Where a larger band costs less in total, it is quoted instead: groups of 123–149 are billed as 150 people at the rate for 150–299 people; groups of 266–299 are billed as 300 people at the rate for 300+ people.

Payment: 50% advance on signature. 100% cleared 3 working days before the event. Numbers lock 7 days prior.

## Why this is not the retail version

A hotel will sell the client a gala dinner package at **AED 220–400 per person**. That buys a room and a meal. It does not buy a programme, a stage design, an MC, an awards structure, a film, entertainment or anyone to run the night.

What clients actually discover when they book direct is that the hotel hands them a banquet manager, not an event producer — and the HR team ends up building a run sheet at midnight.

**This is the anchor of the annual calendar.** It is the single largest booking most clients make, it is decided in Q4, and whoever produces it is positioned to produce everything else the following year. Never sell it as a standalone — always propose it as the fourth quarter of a twelve-month calendar.

## Timeline

- **18:30** — Doors. Branded step-and-repeat, roaming photographer, welcome drinks
- **19:00** — Reception — canapés, live acoustic set, networking
- **19:45** — Guests seated. MC opens
- **20:00** — Year in review film screened on the main LED
- **20:10** — Chairman or CEO address
- **20:25** — Dinner service
- **21:15** — Awards ceremony — long-service, performance and team categories
- **22:00** — Headline entertainment — live band or feature act
- **22:45** — Dance floor, DJ set
- **23:20** — Closing remarks, group photograph
- **23:30** — Close

## Included

- Hotel ballroom hire with full gala dinner package
- Stage, full AV, lighting rig and LED screen
- Professional MC for the full programme
- Live band and DJ
- Complete decor and theming — table styling, centrepieces, entrance treatment
- Branded step-and-repeat photo wall
- Awards, trophies, certificates and printed programme
- Year-in-review film — edited from footage supplied by the client, or shot by us at earlier events
- Full event management team on site
- Two photographers and two videographers — same-night social edit plus full gallery and highlight film within 7 working days
- Registration and seating management
- Dietary, allergy and halal management

## Not included

- Transport
- Alcoholic beverages (quoted separately where the venue is licensed)
- Accommodation for out-of-town staff
- Guest gifting (see add-ons)
- 5% VAT

## Weather and backup plan

- **Trigger:** None — indoor venue.
- **Fallback:** Venue failure at this scale is not recoverable at short notice. Mitigation is contractual: the venue contract carries a force-majeure and relocation clause, and a named alternate ballroom of equivalent capacity is identified at booking.
- **You are told by:** Immediate.

## Customisation options

- Guest gifting: AED 80–350/person
- Headline act or celebrity performer: Quoted per event
- Fireworks or pyrotechnics: AED 8,000–25,000
- Themed costume and character performers: AED 6,000
- Live social wall with guest photo uploads: AED 2,900
- 360° photo booth: AED 5,500
- Custom stage set build: AED 15,000+
- Transport, per 50-seat coach: AED 650

## Questions about Year in Review

### How much does Year in Review cost per person?

AED 860 per person for 80–149 people; AED 700 per person for 150–299 people; AED 620 per person for 300+ people. All figures exclude 5% VAT. A group below a band's minimum chargeable size is billed at that minimum: 111 people in the 80–149 band. Where a larger band costs less in total, it is quoted instead: groups of 123–149 are billed as 150 people at the rate for 150–299 people; groups of 266–299 are billed as 300 people at the rate for 300+ people.

### How long does Year in Review take, and when does it start?

5 hrs. Ideal start: 18:30 arrival — reception at 19:00, dinner at 20:00, awards at 21:00, close by 23:30. Departure window: 18:00–19:30.

### What is not included in Year in Review?

Transport; Alcoholic beverages (quoted separately where the venue is licensed); Accommodation for out-of-town staff; Guest gifting (see add-ons); 5% VAT. These are stated before enquiry rather than raised at invoice time.

### What happens to Year in Review if the weather turns?

Trigger: None — indoor venue. Fallback: Venue failure at this scale is not recoverable at short notice. Mitigation is contractual: the venue contract carries a force-majeure and relocation clause, and a named alternate ballroom of equivalent capacity is identified at booking. You are told: Immediate.

### How far in advance do we need to book Year in Review?

The booking lead time is 60 days (90 days for December dates). Ramadan and December dates book out first.

## Read before you book

- [The best corporate event venue in Dubai, by purpose](https://offsyte.ae/blog/best-corporate-event-venue-dubai/): No venue in Dubai is the best one, only the right one for the job. Eight jobs a company event has to do, the venue each needs, and what it costs per person.
- [Renting an event venue in Dubai: what it really costs](https://offsyte.ae/blog/corporate-event-venue-hire-dubai/): The four ways Dubai venues charge for space, what a hire fee never includes, and how to turn any venue quote into a total you can compare at your headcount.
- [Company annual dinner ideas: the running order](https://offsyte.ae/blog/company-annual-dinner-ideas/): What goes into a company annual dinner once the venue is booked — the running order, which performances work, awards, themes and gifts, with per-person costs.
- [Corporate event photography, and what goes wrong](https://offsyte.ae/blog/corporate-event-photography-video-dubai/): Event photography in Dubai rarely fails during the shoot. It fails at delivery. What to contract, what a reel and a drone cost, and the shot list to hand over.

Request a proposal: https://offsyte.ae/enquire/?package=I-01 · proposals@offsyte.ae