What’s on in Dubai

Dubai Shopping Festival photo

Dubai Shopping Festival

January and February every year

Throughout the city, but the main focal point of the festival is the Global Village, Emirates Road

The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) was started in 1996 by the government to promote retail trade in the city, and has since grown into the foremost shopping event in the world, an a…

Dubai Shopping Festival

January and February every year

Throughout the city, but the main focal point of the festival is the Global Village, Emirates Road

The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) was started in 1996 by the government to promote retail trade in the city, and has since grown into the foremost shopping event in the world, an annual extravaganza of shopping and entertainment that promotes tourism and attracts millions of people from around the world to Dubai every year. The city is already known as a shopping paradise, but for a whole month thousands of retail outlets offer further specials, with hotels, travel companies and airlines also extending special discounts to visitors during this period.

Website www.visitdubaishoppingfestival.com/

Omega Dubai Desert Classic photo

Omega Dubai Desert Classic

18 — 21 January 2024

Majlis Course of the Emirates Golf Club

Part of the European PGA tour, the Dubai Desert Classic takes place at what was the first grass golf course in the Middle East, which was entitled The Desert Miracle in 1988. The t…

Omega Dubai Desert Classic

18 — 21 January 2024

Majlis Course of the Emirates Golf Club

Part of the European PGA tour, the Dubai Desert Classic takes place at what was the first grass golf course in the Middle East, which was entitled The Desert Miracle in 1988. The tournament attracts prestigious international players to compete for the trophy and US$2.5 million in prize money. Greats such as Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros and Rory McIlroy have competed here over the course of the tournament's history and added chapters to its legacy.

Website www.dubaidesertclassic.com

Dubai Rugby Sevens photo

Dubai Rugby Sevens

TBC 2025

The Sevens Stadium

The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens heralds the opening of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, featuring 16 of the best international rugby sevens teams each year. The event ha…

Dubai Rugby Sevens

TBC 2025

The Sevens Stadium

The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens heralds the opening of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, featuring 16 of the best international rugby sevens teams each year. The event has grown rapidly over the last few years, attracting over 70,000 fans from around the world. Its carnival-like atmosphere makes it one of the most popular events in the Middle East.

Website dubairugby7s.com

Dubai World Cup photo

Dubai World Cup

30 March 2024

Nad Al Sheba Racecourse.

The Dubai World Cup is one of the richest horse races in the world, offering a purse of US$12 million, with US$7.2 million going to the winner of the mile-and-a-quarter race. The e…

Dubai World Cup

30 March 2024

Nad Al Sheba Racecourse.

The Dubai World Cup is one of the richest horse races in the world, offering a purse of US$12 million, with US$7.2 million going to the winner of the mile-and-a-quarter race. The event attracts the best horses and jockeys from around the world every year. A visit to the state-of-the-art racecourse is an event in itself with its floodlit sand and dirt track and television monitors in all areas. The competition is almost as fierce off the track among the style conscious who compete for title of the best dressed.

Global Village Dubai photo

Global Village Dubai

18 October 2023 — 28 April 2024

The Global Village is a shopping, eating, and entertainment extravaganza that runs throughout the winter months in Dubai. Bringing together traditions from across the globe, thousa…

Global Village Dubai

18 October 2023 — 28 April 2024

The Global Village is a shopping, eating, and entertainment extravaganza that runs throughout the winter months in Dubai. Bringing together traditions from across the globe, thousands flock each year to sample the exotic foods and international goods. Visitors experience the sights, sounds, and smells of hundreds of diverse cultures. They are many countries represented, with each housed in its own enormous pavilion decorated in accordance with the country's heritage. Organisers strive to make the annual attractions and pavilions at the Global Village bigger and better. In recent years, attractions have included a five hundred metre manmade canal and a forty metre Ferris wheel overlooking the desert.

Website www.globalvillage.ae/en/home-page

UAE National Day photo

UAE National Day

2 December annually

UAE National Day is celebrated on 2 December every year to mark the day in 1971 when the seven emirates first joined together to form the United Arab Emirates. It's a day to abando…

UAE National Day

2 December annually

UAE National Day is celebrated on 2 December every year to mark the day in 1971 when the seven emirates first joined together to form the United Arab Emirates. It's a day to abandon reserve and party hard, as parades and fireworks erupt around town. Flags wave all around, including the world's biggest flag which was unfurled in 2009 in Sharjah. The best spot to watch the festival parades is Beach Road, while the fireworks are best appreciated on the Burj Khalifa observation deck or at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.