UAE. The longest ever display of fireworks in terms of distance in the history of Dubai Shopping Festival launched the 17th edition of the region’s best shopping and entertainment extravaganza on Thursday, 5th January.

The 5-minute musical fireworks display at approximately was watched by a large number of local, regional and international media from the Festival Promenade at Dubai Festival City at a media gathering that was hosted by Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), an establishment under the Department of Economic Development (DED), and the organizers of the Dubai Shopping Festival.

The media event was also attended by Ms. Laila Suhail, CEO of Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, key executives from Al  Futtaim Group, the Strategic Partners of DEPE’s Events and Festivals for 2012, and a Turkish delegation that had flown into Dubai to witness the opening of DSF 2012, and learn from their experience here just as they launch the second edition of the Istanbul Shopping Festival this year.

Addressing the media, Ms. Laila Suhail, said: “Standing here, I would like to reflect with you on how fast the years pass by when you are doing something that you are passionate about. It seems only yesterday that we started our first edition of DSF, and here we are minutes away from launching the 17th edition.

“We are very proud of maintaining an amazing record of success. We started our first edition with around 1 million visitors who spent 2.5 billion dirhams, while the 2011 DSF attracted around 4 million visitors who spent more than 15 billion dirhams. What a glorious journey. A journey that has positioned Dubai as a leading shopping hub in the region, and branded DSF as one of the best shopping experiences in the world”

“On behalf of the government of Dubai, I would like to thank all our sponsors and strategic partners from the private sector, for standing by us all these years and extending their support that enabled us to register many achievements. And of course we would like to thank the local, regional and international media who have played a crucial role in making DSF such a popular event across the globe” Ms. Suhail added.

DSF 2012  is being celebrated this year under the slogan “Dubai at its Best” in line with the overall DSF theme of “ONE WORLD - ONE FAMILY - ONE FESTIVAL”.  Based on the three pillars of Shopping, Entertainment and Winning, the 17th edition of DSF is set to roll out an exciting mix of hundreds of events and activities.

Festival Promenade at Dubai Festival the newest DSF destination, is celebrating DSF 2012 with a progamme packed with excitement and great merry-making. You may bump into celebrity look-alikes from Hollywood, the Sporting World and Royalty, or get pleasantly surprised by performances given by ‘sound-alikes’ of famous artists.

For the connoisseur of music, there are gifted performers, who will be using a wide range of instruments at their disposal -  the harp, oud, flute, saxophone, tabla and cello – to showcase their talents.

DSF has become a magnet for shoppers mainly because of its shopping-linked raffles and promotions that offer visitors an array of prizes.

DSF 2012 is no different with shoppers getting numerous opportunities to win big including a  luxury Infiniti QX 56 model worth AED 350,000, one of eight different Nissan models and half a  kilo of gold daily for 32 days.

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