SINGAPORE - Sphere Exhibits and UnUsUaL Productions (UP) on Tuesday (March 19) announced that they will be entering into a strategic partnership.

Sphere, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings, said in a statement that this will allow it to combine its position in the regional festivals and exhibition space with UP's expertise in large-scale live concerts production.

Beerfest Asia and BuildTech Asia are key among the 40 exhibitions and events organised by Sphere each year.

Sphere has engaged UP as the licence representative for Beerfest Asia in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Touted as the largest beer festival in Asia, Beerfest Asia features the widest range of local and international beers with over 600 types.

The event also has new beer launches and award-winning beers, making it the best showcase for consumers and regional traders, the statement said.

With the success of Beerfest Asia's first festival in China held in Fei county in Shandong province last year, Beerfest Asia will be expanded this year with a minimum of six festivals to be held Nanning, Liuzhou, Dongxin, Qingdao and Linyi, as well as Hong Kong.

The first Beerfest Asia in Shandong province attracted over 100,000 festivalgoers during China's Golden Week holidays.

This year's BuildTech Asia in November will be its ninth edition.

The event, organised by Sphere, is the premier platform for the build environment sector in the region, with about 10,000 trade and business professionals expected to attend.

There will also be products and services from over 300 brands across the entire building life-cycle management.

With the help of UP, Sphere will be presenting a new segment in BuildTech Asia for infrastructure development, which has become the driver for construction demand in the region.

Sphere said that the refreshed concepts will leverage UP's expertise in sound, light and video engineering.

Architectural lighting, project mapping, digital signage incorporating AI and digital security systems will be showcased at the event.

Sphere chairman Chua Wee Phong said: "We are confident that together, we can propel BuildTech Asia to greater heights with the introduction of the new sound, light and video technologies segment."

He added that this year's BuildTech series will bring "a whole new experience for trade visitors both locally and regionally".

UP chief operations officer Johnny Ong said that the company is pleased to embark on the cooperation with Sphere.

"Together with Sphere's strong portfolio of festivals and exhibitions, we aim to accelerate the growth of both companies in the MICE and entertainment sectors regionally."