A huge tech festival officially kicks off in Dubai today.

STEP conference will see an impressive gathering of tech startups, investors, entrepreneurs, and influential speakers from all over descend on Dubai Internet City over the next two days.

Located on the banks of the internet city lakes, this festival has four verticals, STEP Start, STEP Digital, STEP X, STEP Money and with a jam-packed agenda there are also plenty of slick pop-ups located throughout.

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Here are five cool things at STEP worth checking out

1. Smashi TV is launching and it will stream live from the festival

A brand new Arabic news channel is launching, a first for the region, this is purely online and will feature everything related to business, culture and tech.

The site is still under-construction, but the interviews taking place today will give you a small idea of what Smashi’s about. Follow on Instagram here, Facebook here and Twitter here for live updates

Launching soon: Smashi. Find it in STEP Start area.

2. STEP music kicked off last night

Shout out to STEP for continuing to support the region’s talent, this year’s line-up includes Cosmic Roots, Part Time Sinners and DJs Shadi Megallaa, Ay and Tala Samman. Performances happening throughout the festival, check out the timings here.

3. The Pepsi Platform

Last year Pepsi grabbed attention when it launched a futuristic smart cart and judging from the SoleDXB type set-up we can expect more of the same this year. Keep an eye out for influencers who’ll be popping in and out of here throughout the day and the lunchtime performances.

4, The Porsche Space

Porsche has taken over an entire space where guests have the opportunity to catch session on Desert Technology, Smart Mobility, and E-Performance. Find it in the STEP Start area.

5. This car

The biggest question plaguing STEP attendees is whether this beautiful Aston Martin is MEANT to look like this. It’s got pride of place next to the lake, and looks part burnt-out, part like a super heroes car.