Dubai Shopping Festival Takes on Iconic Status in Tenth Year But Building and Sustaining the Event ‘Not an Easy Task,’ say Organisers

The annual Dubai Shopping Festival has become globally known as a major attraction in the Middle East, and visitor numbers grow annually.

As the event celebrates its tenth year, marking a decade of excellence in the global retail-cum-entertainment marketing space, organizers are finding they have much to share with others in the industry based on their accomplishments with the annual spectacle.

“The successes of the Dubai Shopping Festival – and its related event, the Dubai Summer Surprises – have provided our management team with a strong base of institutional knowledge about how to build and sustain mega events capable of competing on a global level, and we want to share that ‘know-how’ with others who could benefit from the DSF and DSS examples,” said Saeed M. Al Nabouda, Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises, who will make a keynote speech at the upcoming Festivale event.

The three-day Festivale convention will bring leading event planners, destination managers and organisers to Dubai from April 24 to 26, and will examine how major entertainment, commercial and sporting events are staged.

“Our primary challenge moving forward is how to, not only sustain, but strengthen our already impressive offering, and that’s not an easy task at all. We will have to continue to push ourselves to new heights by forming new alliances between the Government and the private sector and that’s also a large part of the message that we will give to attendees at the Festivale,” added Al Nabouda.

So convinced of the importance of professional, high-level industry information sharing, DSF has elected to be the event’s platinum sponsor, and has instructed its team to attend the event to hear from other global event organizers.

Already, Festivale organisers have confirmed that there will be more than 150 attendees from over 25 countries.

“The DSF’s role in Festivale 2005 is overwhelmingly positive. They are really behind the event and its purpose, and we are certain that their participation will ensure the continued success of our own professionally-organised gathering,” said Sabine Enthammer, executive director conferences, IIR Middle East, organisers of Festívale 2005.

More than 30 speakers from around the world, including Rod McGeoch, chief executive of Sydney's winning Olympic Games bid, and member of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, will address the convention.

Other speakers include, Virginia Kern, chairman, Fair and Exhibitions Ltd; Amanda Stainer, head of exhibitions, The Society of British Aerospace Companies Ltd; and William J, O'Toole, managing director, Event Project Management System, Australia.

Festivale 2005 is accredited by the Project Management Institute, which has more than 125,000 members in 140 countries, and endorsed by the International Special Events Society (ISES Europe) and the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA).

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