Dubai: If you’re new to Dubai, you’s most probably heard about the often crazy deals as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival. But there’s more to know than the discounts. Here are our top picks of trivias about DSF:

1) DSF’s First visitor

The first visitor to arrive for the inaugural Dubai Shopping Festival in 1996 was Saudi national Saleh Al Mansour, with his family, via Emirates flight EK314 in the early hours of the festival’s opening day on February 14.

A high-ranking delegation from the Dubai Shopping Festival Secretariat made sure they were given a VIP’s welcome along with the first few guests of the Festival.

2) Zero Budget

The first DSF was not allocated any budget from government. The Dh18 million money they got to run the festival was raised through sponsorships. “We are not taking any money out of the government’s budget. This is an income-generating project,” Ebrahim Abdul Rahim, DSF Trade Registration Supervisor, said in 1996.

3) Symbol of Confidence

Through the years, the DSF Logo, a shopping bag sporting the UAE National Flag’s colours with a figure of a family within it, carried the DSF’s promise of discounted rates as part of the festival. Another symbol figured prominently in the early years of DSF: one that says “UAE World’s Best Buys, Guaranteed Genuine.”

4) Setting Examples

The DSF Supreme Committee meant what they said when a shop would be penalised for not selling goods at the promised discounted rates. Blue Marine International, a clothing shop in Karama, was the first to be slapped with stiff penalties just five days into the festival. It was closed down indefinitely for “cheating customers” and compromising the credibility of the festival. Organisers publicised the closure to urge other retailers to play fair.

5) Early Preparations

DSF is annually held at the beginning of each year during winter months. Back in its early stages, actual preparations started as early as August the year before, but the planning started much earlier.

“The first two or three years of DSF was like, we finish one festival, have two to three days off, and then we start [planning again for the next festival],” said Avi Bhojani, Group CEO of Bates PanGulf Group, and one of the architects of DSF.

Source: Gulf News Archive, Avi Bhojani