The Dubai Shopping Festival is set to make a grand return at the end of this year, running for close to seven weeks, from December 15 to January 29.
Organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, the 28th DSF will offer not only discounts on shopping, but also big-name concerts, meal deals, subsidised hotel rates, roaming entertainment, fireworks and other family-friendly activities, and life-altering raffles and prizes.
While DSF usually ropes in the many malls peppered across the city as well as thousands of high-street and high-end retailers, it also offers a dedicated al fresco arena to visitors who’d rather spend their time outdoors. Etisalat MOTB is held at Burj Park, a lush space with views of Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountains.
The Market Outside the Box retail concept is replete with pop-up stalls selling accessories, apparel, art, homeware and other flea-market-style trinkets from boutique vendors, as well as a convoy of food trucks in a festive ambience. The experience is punctuated by plenty of performances and concerts, details of which are yet to be finalised.
Elsewhere, visitors and residents can look forward to the DSF Drones Light Show and the Dubai Lights Exhibition. While the venues for these have not been announced, the performances are usually held at The Beach on JBR, opposite Bluewaters Island. The free-to-watch shows involve a swarm of hundreds of drones, entertaining crowds with spectacular lights and storytelling for close to five minutes at a time. Last year, for example, a show titled Dubai, From the Past to the Present charted the city's journey from old Dubai to new Dubai, to the backdrop of the official DSF song by Rashed Al-Majed, Dubai Kawkab Aakhar, which translates as “Dubai is another planet”.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the varied offerings at DSF through the years
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City Centre Deira, the biggest shopping mall in the UAE at the time, filled with thousands of residents and tourists on the first day of the Dubai Shopping Festival on March 21, 1998. AFP -
Fireworks and laser beams light the sky during the opening ceremony for Dubai Shopping Festival on March 18, 1999. AFP -
Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation presenter Toni Khalifeh during a live broadcast of his TV game programme in Dubai, March 9, 2000, during the Dubai Shopping Festival. AFP -
Lebanese pop singer Nawal al-Zoghbi in Dubai on March 1, 2001, the first day of the Dubai Shopping Festival. Zoghbi was one of many Arab singers to perform in Dubai during the month-long shopping bonanza. AFP -
Syrian singer Assalah and Tunisian singer Saber al-Robai after performing a duet during the 7th Dubai Shopping Festival, March 14, 2002. AFP -
A model in a gown by designer Emanuel Ungaro in his spring-summer 2004 collection during Dubai fashion week at the Dubai Shopping Festival, February 5, 2004. AFP -
Asian dancers during a ceremony to celebrate the launch of Dubai Shopping Festival, January 12, 2005. AFP -
An airborne tourist in Dubai enjoys one of the shopping festival activities in 2007. AFP -
A sheila and abaya fashion show at the BurJuman Mall in Dubai on August 11, 2008. The event was part of the Dubai Shopping Festival's 'Summer of Surprises'. Edythe McNamee / The National -
A Ferris wheel, carnival rides and shopping stalls at the night souq along Dubai Creek in Dubai, January 15, 2009, a popular part of DSF. Jeff Topping / The National -
Last minute-shopping to take advantage of Dubai Shopping Festival offers at Mall of the Emirates before the festival ends. Paulo Vecina / The National -
Shopping in Al Ghurair Mall during Dubai Shopping Festival on February 13, 2011. Charles Crowell for The National -
DSF offers at Mall of the Emirates in 2012. Jaime Puebla / The National -
The Fashion Train show by Dubai Shopping Festival and Bloomingdale's, where in 2013 a fashion show was held on the Dubai Metro. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Market OTB, the sustainable platform to discover new retail concepts, a main attraction of the Dubai Shopping Festival, launches in 2014. Photo: DSF -
Saudi Arabian singer Mohammed Abdu performing at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre in 2015 as part of in Dubai Shopping Festival Nights. Reem Mohammed / The National -
Shoppers on the first day of Dubai Shopping Festival at Dubai Mall in 2016. Pawan Singh / The National -
Jessie J in Dubai for her 'fashiontainment' performance as part of Dubai Shopping Festival, January 2017. Photo: Mall the Emirates -
Dubai Shopping Festival signage at Kite beach in 2018. Reem Mohammed / The National -
Fireworks at Al Seef, Dubai, during the 2019 Dubai Shopping Festival. Photo: DSF -
Dubai Shopping Festival gets under way in December 2020 with a concert in Burj Park. Photo: DSF -
Dubai Shopping Festival opening at Burj Park, Downtown Dubai, December 2021. Ruel Pableo for The National
