Malls up the festivity

Malls in Dubai rang in the festive spirit of Eid in Dubai with stilt walkers, clowns, musicians and flash mobs impressing the shoppers during the weekend.

Eight of the city’s malls stayed open round-the-clock, a first of its kind initiative, under the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Shoppers are more than happy with the experience of all-night shopping which started on October 18 and will last until November 3.

Filipino Rosendo Nadal said that the 24-hour shopping had enabled him and his wife to take their kids Liza (10) and Roman (5) to shop after work. “I welcome this initiative as it is something favourable to us who come home about 8pm,” he said.

Indian Ali Saif (15) said he enjoyed shopping at the first 24-hour shopping spree. “At least, we do not have to hurry in choosing what we want to buy because we know the shops are open 24 hours. We take time and get the best.”

The 24-hour shopping received a good response in the first weekend, and is expected to attract even more shoppers in the week to come. The participating malls are The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Mirdif City Centre, Deira City Centre, Dubai Festival City, Ibn Battuta Mall, Arabian Centre and Lamcy Plaza.

These malls and thousands of retail shops there open non-stop from Thursday morning to Saturday night, allowing for more than 60 consecutive hours of shopping on October 25 and 26 and on November 1 and 2. Special offers and discounts will be the attractions between midnight and 7am.

One of the biggest attractions is the Dh1 million hourly prizes at each mall. Deira City Centre, Mall of the Emirates and Mirdif City Centre will be giving away cash prizes of Dh2,000 each hour, with a special ‘Midnight Madness’ marathon from midnight to 6am during which the prize doubles to Dh4,000.

Majid Al Futtaim Properties spokesman Fuad Sharaf said the initiative was a fantastic opportunity to position Dubai as an innovator in the global retail industry.

“Residents and tourists will have unlimited opportunity to enjoy our world-class shopping and activities being hosted at Deira City Centre, Mall of the Emirates and Mirdif City Centre, and we are optimistic that Eid in Dubai celebrations will see record numbers in terms of footfalls and sales in our malls.”

The malls have also made provision in their complimentary shuttle bus programme, which will run round-the-clock to accommodate the 24-hour weekend timings to and from the mall and major hotels. —lily@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE