All Roads Lead To Dubai For The 18Th Edition Of Dubai Shopping Festival

Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), an agency of the Department of Economic Development is pulling out all the stops to usher in the 18th edition of its iconic world famous event, the Dubai Shopping Festival by offering visitors a fantastic mix of events, activities and shopping-linked promotions during 32 days of non-stop celebrations showcasing ’Dubai at its Best’ from January 3 to February 3.

Starting with an opening ceremony of unprecedented beauty that will draw people to the banks of the festival’s historic central location, the city’s lifeline, the Dubai Creek, the DSF 2013 events calendar has been thoughtfully planned to engage and satisfy visitors and residents of all cultural backgrounds and persuasions and from all quarters of the globe, with the ultimate goal of giving them the best memories of Dubai.

While numerous lives have been changed down the years with the famous DSF mega raffle, this year the winnings will be even bigger. With mind-boggling prizes to be won, more visitors are set to return from DSF 2013 with transformational life experiences. When the array of concerts of renowned artists, theatrical performances, exhibitions, fashion extravaganzas, folklore and heritage shows, fun fairs, children’s and family activities, sporting meets and a myriad other events and happenings are taken into account – not to forget the cuisine and hospitality – everyone will emerge a winner, if only for the valuable everlasting memories they take back home with them.

With more events giving visitors a broad spectrum of choices, DSF 2013 will transform the city into a place abuzz with excitement and adventure, making DSF the best time to shop and enjoy the best of everything in Dubai.

Unveiling the extensive line-up of events and activities ahead of the launch of DSF 2013, HE Laila Mohd Suhail, Chief Executive Officer, DEPE said: “Since it was launched in 1996, based on the directives of His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, the UAE has spared no efforts to succeed in its race for excellence, and today, through Dubai Shopping Festival, we have positioned ourselves as among the best shopping and entertainment destinations of the world. It is the exciting events and shopping-related offerings that have encouraged loyal visitors to come back for more every year during DSF and also attracted millions of new tourists to Dubai. Today, the festival is an internationally acclaimed family fiesta. The festival’s success year after year is based on several factors but there is an underlying reason for such an overwhelming response from visitors from around the world - DSF brings out the best of Dubai by offering one of the best shopping experiences in the world and organizing events and activities that spread joy and excitement across the city, bringing people from different nationalities together to create special memorable moments”.

 

She added: “The exciting calendar of events that we have lined up for Dubai Shopping Festival 2013 is based on our relentless intent to create a cheerful, charming ambience across the entire city that will put residents and visitors in the correct frame of mind and give them the opportunity to go out, enjoy and become a part of ’Dubai at its Best’. This is because we strongly believe that DSF is not just about shopping but also creating the correct ambience to make it an enriching and unforgettable experience. While the Opening Ceremony will put the city’s lifeline the Dubai Creek in the spotlight, we are also focusing several of our activities in key locations alongside the Creek to revive nostalgic memories and tell the world the story of how it all began – the rise of Dubai from a small town with seafaring traditions to an international city of excellence”.

Ibrahim Saleh, Festivals Coordinator General, DEPE, said: “Dubai Shopping Festival, through its unique events and activities, has been successful in bringing the world to Dubai and carry Dubai to the world. DSF 2013 comprises a diverse range of events and activities in different areas such as entertainment, culture, arts and sports, catering to every taste, irrespective of age or nationality. Innovation and high standards have been the main characteristics of Dubai Shopping Festival, and our teams have kept these characteristics in focus when planning the events of DSF 2013. Most of these activities are focused on families, our key audience, in line with our universally appealing theme “ONE WORLD. ONE FAMILY. ONE FESTIVAL”. As always during DSF, we are launching new activities such as Tea Oasis, the Bedouin Lifestyle Camp and the World of Souvenirs that will help give a new dimension to the festival offerings. However, the most rewarding of them all are the much awaited life-changing mega raffles, which continue to lay the foundation for so many rags-to-riches stories. Last year, DSF drew 4.36 million shoppers and total spending reached 4.7 billion dirhams. We expect DSF 2013 to keep up this momentum and do even better to consolidate Dubai’s status as the region’s leading shopping and entertainment destination”. 

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Jan 2, 2013

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