A man and his camels participate in Al Dhafra Camel Festival. Kamal Kassim / Gulf Today

 Thousands of retailers across Dubai are all ready to welcome the visitors with bundle of offers from discounts upto 90 per cent and prizes through raffle draws as part of the month-long 25th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF).

The latest edition of DSF starts today (Dec 26) and will run till Feb 01, 2020, promising incredible celebrations amid sparkle, lights, music, cameras and of course, plenty of shopping. Organised by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) in collaboration with strategic partners and key sponsors, the world-renowned festival will run for 38 days.

The festival will launch with a two-day DSF Grand Opening event at Burj Park, Downtown Dubai with lots of activities and pop ups starting 3pm, as well as five top artists’ acts performing for free. Cheb Khaled, Sherine Abdel Wahab and Hussain Al Jassmi will take the stage on the first day, Thursday 26 December, while British pop star and former One Direction member Liam Payne, and singer songwriter Jorja Smith will perform on Friday 27 Dec. The DSF Opening Weekend is sponsored by Emaar, PepsiCo, SanDisk, and National Food Products Company Oasis Water and Lacnor.

Other concerts taking place in celebration of the launch of the 25th DSF include Pakistani artist Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who will perform at Coca Cola Arena on 27 December, and a hologram concert of the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum at Dubai Opera on 26 and 27 Dec.

An impressive fireworks show will take over the skies of Dubai on the first day of DSF on Thursday 26 December at 9:00pm across five different locations at the same time including The Beach, Al Seef, La Mer, Dubai Festival City Mall and Dubai Creek.  

The fireworks display will continue on Friday 27 December at the Dubai Frame at 7:30pm, The Beach at 8:30pm and Al Seef at 10:30pm.

The first weekend will see Majid Al Futtaim Malls launch an incredible 12 Hour Sale of up to 90 per cent off major brands in City Centre Mirdif, City Centre Deira, City Centre Me’aisem, My City Centre Al Barsha and City Centre Al Shindagha and Mall of the Emirates on Thursday 26 Dec from 12pm until midnight. Shoppers who spend over Dhs300 at any of the participating malls will receive a raffle coupon for a chance to win one of 25 vouchers worth Dhs10,000 to shop at MAF malls during the festival.

NEW THIS DSF

Throughout DSF, there will be a series of DSF Outdoor Markets held at various locations across Dubai, each with a special theme. The locations include Hatta, Al Rigga, Al Khawaneej, Al Seef and City Walk. The signature Market Outside The Box (MOTB) will also return for its seventh edition at Burj Park, Downtown Dubai.

Powered by the online food application Zomato, DSF will present over 1,000 restaurants that will provide 25 per cent off in-dining experiences for those who have a Zomato Gold membership, which will also be at 25 per cent off the membership fee.

For the first time ever, Dubai Festival City Mall will host the LEGO Festival where children and adults interact with 11 zones each celebrating a different Lego brand. In addition, a Lego Imagine Show will come alive like never before! Fire, lasers and lights will be used for an incredible show starting on 8 Jan 2020.

UNLIMITED PRIZES

DSF has become well known for incredible prizes but the 25th edition is full of even more chances to win. From cars to cash to Skywards Miles and reward points, it promises to be the most rewarding festival to date.

In addition to this exciting offer, lucky ones can become Skywards Millionaires exclusively with the Dubai Shopping Festival. For a chance to win, guests need to simply spend over  Dhs350 and scan their receipts on The Dubai Mall App to enter between 3 Jan and 1 Feb 2020. Shoppers can be in for a chance to win 1 million Skywards miles, with a total of five winners selected. Don’t miss out!

Infiniti Mega Raffle is giving away an Infiniti QX50 as well as Dhs 200,000 in cash every single day of the festival, while one lucky DSF shopper will go home with a grand prize of AED 1 million in cash at the end of DSF.