Pictures: Global Village opens in Dubai with 3,500 shops, 78 countries participating

The 24th season of the Global Village is touted as bigger and better than all the previous ones, making it a grand precursor to the silver jubilee season in 2020, which will also coincide with Expo 2020.

Last season, over 7 million people visited Global Village, said officials. This year there will be 78 countries represented, daring stunt shows, the regions' first Middle East’s first Ripley’s Believe it or Not!® museum-attraction and thousands of shopping outlets.

There are about 3,500 shopping outlets at the Global Village, with hundreds of live shows planned.

Tradition from different parts of the world is alive at the Global Village in Dubai.

Cultural shows are part of the Global Village offering in Dubai. A key reason many people go visit destination, however, is to scour out the best items to shop from the pavilions. This year, 78 countries represented at the Global Village.

A child plays in the water fountain inside the Global Village.

Explosion of colours seen at the Global Village, a multicultural festival park in Dubai, is the region’s first family destination for culture, shopping, and entertainment. It opened on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 and runs until April 4,2020.

Ticket booths at the Global Village Dubai.

A pavilion in Dubai's Global Village. The family-friendly destination promotes arts and crafts. It builds on the UAE's reputation as the cultural and entertainment hub of the region.

A vendor selling Turkish delights at the Global Village, which opened on Tuesday night, October 19, 2019.

Global Village, the multicultural festival park in Dubai, is the region’s first family destination for culture, shopping, and entertainment. It opens on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 and runs until April 4,2020.

Inside a national pavilion in the Global Village on Tuesday night, following one of the much-anticipated openings of the season.

This year, 78 countries are represented at the Global Village. It's an internationally-themed mix of cultural-entertainment-retail-dining experiences: with stunt shows, shops galore, and the regions' first Middle East’s first Ripley’s Believe it or Not!® museum. There are some 3,500 shopping outlets selling everything from honey from Yemen to leather jackets from Afghanistan, carpets from Iran to gourmet from Eastern Europe..