How to Start a Creative, Arts and Entertainment Business with Meydan Free Zone

A concert, a gallery show, a stage production, a published novel, behind each is someone who created it and, often, someone who produced and staged it. Creative, arts and entertainment activities is the business of that creative and cultural work, from the artist's own practice to the production of the live events audiences gather to see.

The UAE has put the creative sector at the centre of its economic plans. The Dubai Creative Economy Strategy set out to raise the creative industries' contribution to Dubai's GDP from 2.6 percent in 2020 to 5 percent, and to more than double the number of creative companies in the emirate from 8,300 to 15,000, according to the UAE Government^¹.

At the national level, the Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries targets a 5 percent share of national GDP by 2031, according to the UAE Government^², part of a sustained effort to make the country a regional centre for creative and cultural work.

The UAE is not treating arts and culture as a side activity. It has set explicit targets to grow the creative economy, which makes creative and cultural work a sector with deliberate, policy-backed momentum.

Sources: UAE Government (Dubai Creative Economy Strategy) (2025); UAE Government (National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries) (2025).

The activity is unusual in that its value rests almost entirely on talent and creative output. A gallery, a production company, or an individual artist is judged on the work itself, and the UAE's deliberate investment in the creative economy means that work is being produced into a market that is actively expanding rather than static.

The demand has two layers. There is audience demand: a large, international, high-spending population that fills concert halls, theatres, galleries, and live events, supported by a tourism economy that treats culture as part of the offer.

And there is institutional demand: the UAE's cultural strategy has created a steady flow of festivals, public art, exhibitions, and commissioned work, with public and private bodies actively funding creative output. An artist, a producer, or an arts venue is working into a market where both the audiences and the institutions are growing, and where creative work is treated as something the economy is built to support.

From live performance and visual art to writing and produced events, the UAE rewards creative businesses working into an economy that has chosen to grow culture on purpose.

Who is this for?

• Performing arts producers: Producers of live theatrical presentations, concerts, dance, and other stage productions, with or without their own facilities.
• Individual artists and writers: Artists, writers, and performers including painters, sculptors, authors, musicians, and independent journalists.
• Arts venue and event operators: Operators of concert halls, theatre halls, and arts facilities, and producers of live arts events.

Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a creative, arts and entertainment business in an economy with deliberate, policy-backed cultural growth.

9000.00 - Creative, Arts & Entertainment Activities

Under this activity, you are licensed to carry out creative, arts and entertainment activities, operating facilities and providing services that meet cultural and entertainment interests.

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There are clear boundaries on this activity. The classification places a number of related activities under their own codes. Motion picture and video production and the operation of cinemas are classified separately, as are the activities of personal theatrical and artistic agents, casting activities, ticket agencies, and the operation of museums.

Several specialised restoration activities, including the restoration of stained glass, historical musical instruments, historical buildings, and furniture, and the manufacture of statues that are not artistic originals, also fall under their own codes, as do sports, amusement, and recreation activities. This activity covers creative, artistic, and live entertainment work itself.

The line is precise. If your business produces live performances, carries out artistic and creative work, or operates arts facilities, you are in. If you produce motion pictures, operate a cinema or museum, act as a casting or ticket agency, or carry out specialised restoration work, you are not.

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Third-Party Approval: No third-party approval is required for this business activity.

Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.

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Citations

¹ UAE Government. Dubai Creative Economy Strategy. The Official Portal of the UAE Government, 2025.

² UAE Government. National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries. The Official Portal of the UAE Government, 2025.