TP MEA’s Lebanese nominee for Entertainment Manager of the Year

BEIRUT: With vast horizons awaiting the entertainment industry in the world, awards ultimately play a major role in the growth of artists, artist managers, and entertainment leaders.

Elia Mssawir, a Lebanese who started his career in Lebanon over 12 years ago, is now leading an unconventional entertainment company in the UAE and seeking votes for a top-notch award, TP MEA Magazine’s Entertainment Manager of the Year.

REPRESENTING LEBANON

The magazine is a major player in the events business in the Middle East, and getting nominated in their yearly awards is an honor to Mssawir, especially after seeing his name alongside leading participants, he tells Annahar.

In the nominees' list, there is only one other Lebanese (Roy Zeidan) out of 50 nominees, while the others are from all over the world.

“I could use some push from my people,” he says.

Mssawir has previously been awarded as Artist Manager of the Year, but the Entertainment Manager award will radically enhance his career, as he says, “especially in this part of the world. It will definitely open bigger doors for me.”

FROM PASSION TO CAREER

Mssawir’s passion for the entertainment industry led him to pursue it as a career 12 years ago, and he's been dedicated ever since.

“It’s such a fascinating world. When I started meeting the idols and artists I listened to while growing up, all I wanted was to work with them and be part of one of the biggest industries in the world," he says.

After turning 18, he started organizing his own small events, which later on led him to work with prominent figures in the entertainment industry.

This photo shows Elia Mssawir with Engelbert Humperdinck in Lebanon. (HO)

BIG BEARDS ENTERTAINMENT

Because the entertainment industry in the UAE is known for its big boom in the region and worldwide, Mssawir started to frequently go there 16 years ago, “when barely anything existed.”

He moved to Dubai six years ago, and after much dedication and hard work, he recently established his own Dubai-based company Big Beards Entertainment LLC, which specializes in artists management, artists bookings and events entertainment services.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t see my career improving in Lebanon and I had to leave to pursue my goals, which landed me in UAE,” Mssawir says.

One of his goals was to take regional artists to tour abroad. He also wanted his work to keep a mark in the entertainment industry in the Middle East.

“I believe getting nominated for an award like TP MEA is my hard work paying off. I wouldn’t be able to achieve anything without the trust of people, bands/artists, clients, and suppliers. I thank them dearly!” he tells Annahar.

FAVORITES!

Mssawir’s favorite artists are constantly changing, due to the nature of his work and what he’s usually exposed to. He’s currently into a mixture of Rock, Indie, Alternative and Hip Hop music.

“My days, however, wouldn’t go by without Queen, Led Zeppelin, Alice In Chains, Katatonia, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre,” he says, not leaving out Arab artists that also inspire him, he adds: “My ears are all set for Souad Massi, El Morabba3, Freek, and Sharmoofers.”

HOW TO VOTE

Voting for an award-winning entertainment manager is very simple and it only takes two minutes. After clicking on http://www.tpmea.com/nominations, the voter should register with their emails and pick Mssawir’s name under “Entertainment Manager of the Year;” then submit on top of the page.   

This photo shows Elia Mssawir with Black Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne (left) and Tony Iommi (right). (HO)