Dubai: Organisers have revealed the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) events calendar, which includes 150 events and activities covering family-entertainment, music, fashion, shopping and other categories.
The Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and organisers of the 20th DSF edition, announced the events calendar is to be held under the theme ‘A Journey of Celebrations’.
The 20th edition of DSF runs from January 1 to February 1 and is expected to attract 4-4.5 million people, as it does on average every year.
Leading the events line-up will be the DSF Orchestra, led by the Welsh National Opera Orchestra that will kick off the 20th anniversary celebration in Zabeel Park on January 1.
Also planned are raffle draws, daily fireworks, concerts, street and stage performances, bazaars and many other activities.
More details of other events and attractions are available on the DSF website, mydsf.ae.
DSF, which was launched in 1996 based on the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to position Dubai as a family tourism destination, has grown to become one of the biggest shopping extravaganzas and the longest running festival of its kind in the world.
DSF annually attracts on an average 4 to 4.5 million visitors with a total spending of Dh15 billion. From 1996 to 2014, DSF has attracted approximately 56 million visitors with a total spending of Dh145 billion, whether it was on shopping, hospitality or entertainment.
Laila Suhail, DFRE CEO, said: “The festival’s 20th edition is indeed a huge achievement for Dubai and is befitting of the honour bestowed on the emirate this year by the International Festivals and Events Association, the world’s leading trade association for events, which saw Dubai being crowned as the World Festival and Event City for the third time.”
