20 years of Dubai Shopping Festival

Visitor Numbers:

1996: 1.6 million visitors

4 million to 4.5 million: average visitors per year

Visitor Spending:

1996: Dh1 billion – target measured spending; Dh2.15 billion actual total spending

4 million to 4.5 million: average visitors per year with total spending of Dh15 billion (That’s injecting Dh325,520 per minute into Dubai’s economy for 32 days.

Prizes:

More than Dh1.8 billion: The value of prizes DSF has given in prizes in many forms from 1996 until 2015

31 Rolls Royce cars given away in DSF 2001

If all the 978 cars awarded during the official mega raffles were parallel parked, they would make a line 6.5 kilometres long, or almost 8 Burj Khalifa towers stacked up

In 2005 (its 10th edition): One winner bagged 100kg gold; four Emaar Property Villas were also raffled

Records:

5.52km in length: Dubai Celebration Chain set the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest handmade gold chain. It weighs approximately 256 kilos, made by 100 craftsmen over 45 days for 10 hours each day.

834kg total gold winnings since 1996 - enough to make 13 more Najmat Taiba, the world’s largest gold ring which has 64kg gold

Economic effect:

18% increase in the number of mall visitors in the first half of DSF 2015: Dubai Shopping Malls Group

DSF accounts for 25–30% of annual retail sales from residents and tourists

Performances:

Over 1,000 street performers in 2003

2007: Cirque du Soleil, the world-renowned circus act, made its Middle East debut in Dubai for DSF

Shortest/Longest: Shortest DSF is 31 days, longest is 45 days for the year 2006-2007 for the combined 11th and 12th editions

623 Days – The number of DSF days in all editions since 1996 until now

Global Village:

1997: Global Village debuts along Dubai Creek on Baniyas Street

2002: DSF sees Global Village move to Dubai Festival City