Dubai: Dubai’s Global Village has shared highlights from its recently concluded Season 25, its Silver Jubilee Season, which ended on May 2 after a 190-day run.
Global Village will return with season 26 in October. More announcements and updates regarding next season will follow in due course.
With the involvement of some 5,000 business partners, the park achieved record-breaking accomplishments. Bader Anwahi, CEO, Global Village, said: “For the Global Village family, Season 25 will always be remembered as a major milestone in our history. Our teams overcame challenges, demonstrating resilience and strategic leadership to reimagine what was possible to support Dubai and the UAE with key economic contributions. We have harnessed creativity and diversity in order to deliver authentic experiences, inspiring audiences at home and abroad with support from our loyal fan base and partnership ecosystem.”
Safety first
A raft of safety measures were implemented in the latest season. Partnerships such as SHIELDme, a producer and supplier of sanitisation products and services, were key to ensure guest safety. The collective effort was recognised at the ‘Innovation in Construction & FM awards 2020’ as Global Village won the ‘HSE Initiative of the Year’ award. In addition, Global Village claimed several other awards during Season 25, including the ‘Commitment to Sustainability’ title at the Middle East Cleaning, Hygiene, and Facilities Awards and the 2020 Traveller’s Choice Award from Trip Advisor having ranked in the top 10 per cent of worldwide attractions. Global Village hosted industry leaders from IAAPA, the British Safety Council and Ripley Entertainment, who covered off international best practice in going the extra mile to ensure visitor safety across operations while UAE-based experts from Dubai Municipality and Dubai Holding also joined the “Increased Safety, More Fun!” webinar to share their best health and safety practices. Global Village also retained the Sword of Honour from the British Safety Council, and remain the only leisure destination to have been awarded this accolade.
Strong start
Season 25 had begun with “the biggest virtual rock concert in history” as performers from 80 countries joined Rockin’1000, “the largest rock band on earth”, for the opening gig. In partnership with Arabian Radio Network (ARN), Emirates and Jumeirah the show was streamed live on Global Village’s YouTube channel. Now United, the international pop group, also made a surprise live appearance at the event.
Melting pot
Season 25 saw 78 cultures represented in 26 pavilions across the park. Over 300F & B outlets and no fewer than 3,500 retail outlets formed the region’s largest street food and shopping collective. At the same time, Carnaval featured more than 160 rides, skill games, and arcade attractions. Meanwhile ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum’ hosted six galleries home to more than 300 collections of natural, scientific, artistic, and human oddities, artefacts, and exhibits.
High-tech push
The all-new Global Village mobile app scooped three innovation accolades at the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards. The park partnered with MobiiWorld to design the GPS-powered venue navigation, introduce e-commerce functionalities for ticket purchase, parking payment as well as purchase and top-up of Wonder Pass points. Global Village also partnered with emaratech, a leading Emirati tech company, to introduce ‘GV Pay’, the next-generation e-wallet launched to give guests the option of contactless and cashless payment across the Park. Global Village also employed artificial intelligence in order to protect guests and staff, including an autonomous security robot and AI enabled cameras.
Records broken
Global Village also broke 25 Guinness World Records in honour of the Silver Jubilee anniversary. A total of 70 fireworks displays lit up the skies in Season 25 and the stunt show production featuring high-speed police car chases, firefights, precision driving, back-flipping bikes, explosions, and high falls was performed 484 times. Various festivals and occasions were also celebrated at Global Village, including Diwali, Wonder of Winter, the UAE’s mission to Mars, Kids Fest, Ice Cream Fest, Easter, and Ramadan.
