JEDDAH — Dubai is set to launch the 20th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), to be the biggest in the festival's history, with a calendar of events that embraces DSF's key pillars of shopping, entertainment and winnings according to top official from Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE). Starting January 2, more than half a million dirhams will be up for grabs, with a daily Nissan car raffle and several kilos of gold being given out and above 150 events and activities, including musical concerts, sporting events and festive carnivals, will chart the way for a month-long festivities of the Dubai Shopping Festival 2014. Speaking on Saturday at a press conference here in Jeddah, Laila Mohammed Suhail, CEO of DFRE, promised a bigger and better festival this year. She said “This year the festival is held under the theme "A Journey of Celebrations" with a spectacular calendar of events that embraces DSF' key pillars of shopping, entertainment and winnings.” Beside the CEO of DFRE, the roadshow was also attended by Suhaila Ghubash, Director, Festival and Events and Saeed Mohammed Mesam Al Falasi, Director, Strategic Alliances Division. Suhail said “Most of the visitors are from Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region, but the scope has expanded to include more European nations.” She added “The GCC has always been a key market for Dubai and DSF mainly due to a combination of factors such as its geographical proximity and the fact that we share the same values and cultural backgrounds. Moreover, families – our key audience – constitute the bulk of the visitors from this region. Over the past two decades DSF with its family-friendly calendar of events has evolved from a shopping festival to become a truly inspiring time to experience Dubai as a family tourism destination, and we are confident that the 20th anniversary edition will offer visitors even more memorable and rewarding moments.” More than four million shoppers were involved in DSF 2013 and the organizer Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) is expecting a rise of up to 10 per cent as tourism numbers increase. It has been targeting 17 countries. Saeed Mohammed Mesam Al Falasi, Director, Strategic Alliances Division, DFRE, made a presentation on the DSF 20th edition that provided a glimpse into the exciting line-up of retail activations, entertainment and promotions. The 20th anniversary edition's calendar of events includes a range of world-class shows such as the DSF Concerts series which will celebrate 20 years of DSF in grand style by staging the biggest entertainment extravaganza in the history of the shopping festival. A series of 10 concerts will be staged over the weekends of DSF and will feature 20 of the biggest musical artists of the Arab world. Other highlights include mega fireworks displays every weekend that will add to the citywide illuminations aimed at creating a vibrant festival ambience, a series of celebrity-hosted pop-up stores, exciting stage shows including “MAMMA MIA!” the smash hit musical and the world premiere of “Smurfs Live on Stage”, as well as high-end fashion events such as Abati and a second edition of the highly-successful Market OTB that will give shoppers the opportunity to indulge in some unique retail therapy. As always, mega raffles will offer visitors and residents the opportunity to win big including the Infiniti Mega Raffle which will offer two luxury Infiniti cars and AED 100,000 in cash every day to one lucky shopper for 32 days of the festival. As a DSF 20th Anniversary Special, shoppers participating in the Infiniti Mega Raffle will also get the chance to win additional prizes worth over AED 2 million. Another amazing offer is the Gold and Jewellery Mega Raffle, which will give away a total of 100 kg of gold and 40 carats of diamond during the 20th anniversary edition of DSF – making it the largest-ever gold raffle to be held in the region. Other popular raffles will include the Nissan Grand Raffle, offering one lucky winner one Nissan car every day for the duration of the festival. To commemorate the 20th edition, the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group in association with Dubai Festivals & Retail establishment (DFRE), will also be manufacturing the world's longest handmade gold chain – a 5 kilometer (extendable to 8 kilometer) creation that will be made out of a minimum of 160 kilos of gold in a bid to set a new Guinness World Record.
