Aurora Expands to the Middle East and appoints James Pearce as Managing Director, MENA

Multi award-winning production house Aurora Media Worldwide is expanding into the Middle East and has announced the appointment of James Pearce to the newly created role of Managing Director, MENA.

This strategic move is underpinned by the opening of a new Riyadh office alongside advanced plans to also operate a production hub in Abu Dhabi. It underscores Aurora’s commitment to delivering pioneering, high-end content across live, original, branded, and digital formats that aligns with the region’s ambitions for growth in sports, entertainment, and major events.

The new production bases will be led by James Pearce, who has been instrumental in driving Aurora’s expansion into the region over the past few years. Pearce previously held the post of Partnerships Director at Aurora and has a proven track record in developing new business, building strong relationships, and managing teams.

“Aurora’s unique position in the marketplace for innovative, high-quality content makes this expansion a natural progression,” said Lawrence Duffy, CEO of Aurora Media Worldwide. “Our pioneering approach and focus on innovation aligns perfectly with the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s own ambitions to forge ahead with building on the growing interest in sport, entertainment and major events.”

James Pearce expressed his enthusiasm for the new role: “I am thrilled to lead Aurora’s expansion in the Middle East. The region is rich with talent and opportunity, and we are eager to harness and contribute to its growing media landscape.”

Aurora, part of the All3Media Group which was recently acquired by joint venture investment platform RedBird IMI, has already established a significant presence in Saudi Arabia. Projects include various live and non-live productions, including host broadcasts for Formula E, Extreme E, E1 Series and Supertri, hosted in Riyadh, Jeddah and NEOM, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup in AlUla.

In addition to live productions, Aurora has been involved in a host of original, branded, and digital content projects in the region. These include content for the Royal Commission for AlUla, covering short form originals to digital branded content during the festival seasons, and programmes for the Fursan and Camel Cup. Aurora has also created a short form documentary for the Saudi Surfing Federation, hosted on Shahid. In the UAE, Aurora is producing digital content for Nike, including the new football kit launch for Al Ain FC, the UAE’s most successful football club.