A major announcement was made today, November 11, during a special conference at the Dubai International Content Market (DICM), taking place at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai on November 10–11, 2026. The Ninth Dubai International Content Market (DICM) 2026 opened on Monday in Dubai, organized by INDEX Conferences & Exhibitions, with the participation of 800 attendees from 50 countries.
Eng. Anas Abdulsalam Almadani, vice chairman CEO- Global Grow & Venture IDEX Holdin alongside Birol Güven, General Director of Cinema, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, unveiled plans for the Istanbul Content Market, a new annual industry event currently in the planning stage.
The initiative represents a significant step in strengthening ties between the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye, bringing together two increasingly influential players in the international audiovisual industry.
Speaking at the special announcement, Almadani confirmed that preparations are already underway in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Culture, with further details expected to be revealed soon.
“This is exciting because we are now in the planning phase of the Istanbul Content Market, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture,” he said.
He described the initiative as a natural extension of the strong relationship between the two countries, highlighting Türkiye’s creative strength, cultural heritage and growing influence in the global content business.
“We are very positive that the Istanbul Content Market will be a great successful event that will take place annually,” Almadani added, expressing his personal enthusiasm for Istanbul as the host city.
For Birol Güven, the choice of Istanbul carries particular significance, reflecting the city's central role in the development of Turkish cinema and television.
“Turkey is a country of cinema. Our history of cinema goes back to almost the invention of cinema. But for the last 20 years, we built a huge TV industry upon this heritage,” he explained.
Güven also offered a particularly evocative description of Istanbul's role in Turkish storytelling:“But both in our cinema and in our TV industry, we have always one lead actor. It is Istanbul.”
