TikTok New Year’s Eve Extravaganza Celebrates Creativity across the Region

The New Year’s Eve countdown is the perfect occasion to share short videos, and TikTok reigned supreme as the clock ticked from 2019 to 2020. At Dubai’s jubilant epicenter of Burj Khalifa, TikTok’s highlights of the year were screened on the world’s tallest building through a dynamic LED show in partnership with Emaar. At the same time on the platform, TikTok users were sharing creative and inspiring videos recapping the last year as part of the #My2019 challenge, and expressing their wishes for the new year as part of the #2020MakeAWish campaign. 

Turning the page on a new chapter for TikTok, the platform announced an exciting move today by joining  forces with highly-acclaimed megastar Tamer Hosny. As TikTok becomes increasingly known for being a creative destination that allows users to discover real, interesting, and fun short-form mobile videos, TikTok users have overwhelmingly requested for Tamer Hosny to join the platform so they can get a glimpse into his life and take part in his creative work through short videos. Through a survey held by TikTok on social media platforms, Tamer Hosny was the name most mentioned by fans and his debut onto the platform will inspire a new wave of creative expression among users. The megastar posted his first TikTok video wishing his ever-growing fanbase health and success as part of the #2020MakeAWish challenge and pledged to bring another level of style and diversity to his content in 2020 . He also encouraged users to comment on his video with their own wishes for 2020, and made a promise to grant wishes for 5 of his lucky fans from across the globe. At the same time, Tamer Hosny also wished everyone a Happy New Year through a TikTok video message screened on the Burj Khalifa. 

Tamer Hosny said: “I’m thrilled to be joining TikTok, a platform that is loved by millions for its fun, interesting and authentic short videos. It’s humbling to have such a loyal and vocal fan base and I’m thankful to them for enticing me to join such a fun and creatively diverse platform. I'm so excited to be kicking off this new year with my first TikTok video, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming collaborations with TikTok, which I'm sure my fans will love.”

The world’s leading short-form video platform also used the opportunity to announce the winners of its inaugural 2019 TikTok Hero Awards. The year’s Best Short Story Creator was Saad Abdullah while the Best Transition Creator was Ahmed Al Mulla.  Challenges, a TikTok feature that inspires users to respond creatively and share content with a hashtag, continued to be a big hit in the region in 2019. Tala was announced Best TikTok Challenger to much applause.

As a platform that empowers users to showcase their true selves and real lives, TikTok has become the preferred platform for creative expression across a diverse range of content creators. Best Sports Creator was awarded to GameyFreestyler, while Meeto Al Shamsey had the last laugh by picking up the award for Best Comedy Creator. Miss Doopa’s appetizing videos resulted in a nod for Best Food Creator and Khaleel Aqrabawi agreed that the Best Fashion Creator trophy was the evening’s must-have accessory. Englishized was named Best Education Creator.

The Best Music Creator award went to Ahmedoo Biggie and the 2020 spotlight will shine brightly on Shirine Saad, who was announced Best Rising Artist. The year’s most Popular Original Song was by Confait, an original TikTok melody that went TikTok viral.

“For TikTok, the year has ended on a really high note and we are especially proud to see the  diversity of content from our creative community,” said Rami Zeidan, Head of Video and Creative at TikTok. “TikTok has truly become part of the fabric of the Middle East region as a destination for creating and discovering real, interesting, and fun short-form mobile videos that will make your day. At the dawn of a new decade, we are looking forward to bringing TikTok to the next level — and so we are really excited  to roll out a new music plan working with leading partners in the industry to foster regional talent and content creators in the budding music scene. We have no doubt that users and content creators alike will continue to both produce and discover some truly exhilarating and expressive videos on TikTok.”

TikTok’s 2020 music focused initiatives will feature new app updates allowing musicians to upload their own music previews on TikTok to reach wider audiences instantly. It will also engage in artistic collaboration projects with leading music partners such as Qanawat. Tying it together is the TikTok Creators Academy, which will become a dedicated resource to help artists design and deploy content strategies on the platform, tailored to their needs.