One Show 2026: 80 MEA Finalists Named Across 51 Countries
South Africa leads MEA with 48 finalists at One Show 2026, a 167% jump from 2025. Ogilvy and Accenture Song dominate the region's creative awards.
The One Club for Creativity has announced 80 finalists from the Middle East and Africa region in The One Show 2026, drawn from a global pool of 1,345 finalists selected across 51 countries and regions.
Winners will be revealed during Creative Week 2026 on May 14, with the awards ceremony held May 15 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.
South Africa Posts 167% Jump in Finalist Count
South Africa leads the MEA region with 48 finalists in 2026, up from 18 in 2025. That is a 167% year-on-year increase.
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Two campaigns account for the bulk of that number. Ogilvy South Africa Cape Town secured 15 finalists, 13 of them for a single campaign called "Vaseline Verified" for Vaseline. Accenture Song South Africa Cape Town added 13 finalists, all for "The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix" on behalf of the Philipstown WireCar Foundation. Giant Films Cape Town contributed seven additional finalists for the same project.
Independent agencies also performed strongly. Joe Public Sandton earned six finalists for Breast Cancer UK's "Street Nipples" campaign. Promise Johannesburg secured six finalists for AfriSam's "Unwanted Sites."
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Middle East Led by IMPACT BBDO and Memac Ogilvy UAE
The UAE contributed 18 finalists and Saudi Arabia contributed seven, together accounting for 25 of the region's 80 entries.
IMPACT BBDO leads the Middle East with six finalists across three clients: AnNahar Newspaper ("The Untaught History Edition"), Cheetos ("Cheetos Pants"), and UN Women ("Child Wedding Cards"). Memac Ogilvy UAE secured five finalists, four for IKEA Al-Futtaim's "Phone Sleep Collection" in the UAE and one for IKEA Alsulaiman's "Affordable Masterpieces" in Saudi Arabia.
Other agencies with finalist entries include LEO UAE, Saatchi and Saatchi UAE, VML Riyadh, Horizon FCB Dubai, and Landor Dubai. VML Riyadh's four finalists make it the highest-placed Saudi Arabia-based agency in the MEA list.
Central Asia Agencies Appear in Global Finalist Pool
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan each contributed four finalists. GForce Grey Almaty represented Kazakhstan, while Synthesis Agency Tashkent represented Uzbekistan. Both countries are grouped within The One Show's MEA competitive region.
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Turkey contributed three finalists. MEA's 80 total entries represent approximately 5.95% of the global finalist pool.
Global Leaders and Creative Week 2026 Programming
Globally, Rethink Toronto leads all agencies with 47 finalists. Uncommon Creative Studio London follows with 34. Apple Cupertino, FCB Chicago, and VML New York each secured 26 finalists.
Creative Week 2026 is in its 17th year. Programming includes the inaugural One Show Members Choice Award, an AI Creative Challenge, an Executive Creative Summit, portfolio reviews, and daily panel discussions. All finalists will receive Gold, Silver, or Bronze Pencils, or Merits, announced across the two-day event in New York.
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