I Always Look Forward to Dubai Summer Surprises – And You Should Too
What’s better than a good shopping day? It’s getting 65 days of pure shopping bliss with all the great deals you can find around the city. Sounds fun, right?
Dubai Summer Surprises gives you just that and more, which is why it’s one of the most popular festivals in the city. Oh, I know that got you excited, so take note of the details on this guide.
What You Need to Know About Dubai Summer Surprises
Dubai Summer Surprises Happens Every Year
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Dubai Summer Surprises is an annual shopping festival that runs for 10 weeks from the end of June to the first week of September.
During this time, more than 2,500 retail outlets – from stores to restaurants – offer discounts of up to 90%.
These stores are scattered around the city, some of which are in famous shopping destinations like the Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Festival City and The Beach JBR.
But it doesn’t stop at that because during Dubai Summer Surprises, hotels, restaurants and many entertainment hotspots around the city also offer massive discounts to guests.
Plus, you can catch world-class live entertainment throughout the festival, which is why it’s not surprising that a lot of people look forward to this event every year.
And if that’s not enough to get you excited, you can also participate in the many raffles like the Daily Surprises and DSS Share Millionaire where you get the chance to win massive prizes.
Dubai Summer Surprises has successfully run for 27 straight years and it was created by the Dubai Government with the Dubai Tourism to attract more visitors to the city during the hot summer months.
Dubai Summer Surprises Offers Excellent Entertainment
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You don’t have to be a shopaholic to enjoy Dubai Summer Surprises because the festival also brings loads of entertainment during its run.
The opening weekends are always a blast. In fact, this year, the festival opened with a concert at the famous Coca Cola Arena with headliners like Al Shamsi, Xzibit and George Wassouf.
You’ll also find a lot of parties, concerts and gatherings in different venues around the city throughout the course of the festival. This year saw more than 60 live performances that everyone really enjoyed – including me!
But we’re not just talking about adult fun here because Dubai Summer Surprises makes sure that everyone – young and old – will have a blast.
For starters, several comedy shows by prominent performers are being held in popular venues like The Theater by QE2 and the Dubai Opera. So, if you want a good laugh, you’ll have plenty of options, that’s for sure!
Movie lovers can also enjoy special screenings, film premiers and even meet-and-greet events with famous celebrities during the festival. For instance, Roxy Cinemas held over 20 premiers this year.
Now if you’re a fitness buff, you’ll surely hit a milestone with the Indoor Summer Run at the Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Festival City Mall.
Yes, this is the first of its kind in Dubai and you can choose from 2.5 kilometers, 5 kilometers and 10 kilometer distances. And because Dubai is sweltering hot during this time of year, the run is held inside the malls to keep you warm.
But the real highlight of the annual festival has to be the Modesh World. This amazing indoor edutainment hotspot is perfect for families because of its wide variety of games, learning areas and themes that kids of all ages can enjoy.
This year, Modesh World was held at the Dubai World Trade Center and it had more than 20 stalls, nine inflatable play areas and other spots that offer food, toys and entertainment.
The best part is, you can visit this attraction for free, which makes it perfect if you’re on a budget. Modesh World has been around for 25 seasons, so you can guarantee that it knows exactly what you need to have fun.
Oh, and don’t forget to take a photo with Modesh and his good friend Dana!
Dubai Summer Surprises Is Retail Heaven
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Of course, you can’t talk about Dubai Summer Surprises without the discounts, promotions and freebies! In fact, it’s the real highlight of this annual festival.
The deals here are massive starting with 12-hour flash sales where more than 550 local and international brands offer up to 90% off between 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
These deals are available in more than nine malls around Dubai, so you just need to be on the lookout for when these flash sales are happening to take advantage of them.
If you’ve been planning a staycation for a while now but you have a tight budget, this is the time to book that hotel because of the massive deals that you can find.
In fact, you can find more than 7,000 buy one, get one free offer on hotel rooms, resort stays, dining experiences and entertainment during the festival.
These deals even extend to spa treatments, salon visits and other services. And the best part is, Dubai Summer Surprises has the “Kids Go Free” policy to offer extra savings for families who want to go on staycations.
Now if you’re here for the shopping, prepared to be blown away with everything that’s on sale during the festival. And I don’t mean just a few dirhams off but items selling for up to 90% off with additional discounts and freebies if you buy more!
For instance, international retail stores like Bloomingdale’s and Harvey Nichols don’t just sell products on markdowns but also offer cashback rewards for even more savings.
And if you’re shopping for your little ones, stores have massive discounts on Back to School items throughout the festival.
The city’s top shopping destinations participate in Dubai Summer Surprises, so just imagine walking into Dubai Mall with almost every item in the stores on sale. You’ll surely have the time of your life!
Now if you’re more of a foodie, this is your chance to dine in those fancy restaurants with menus at 30% off.
You can also join Summer Restaurants Week where you get to enjoy set menus for breakfast, lunch or dinner from more than 60 of the best restaurants in Dubai.
This includes Lila’s Taqueria, Bistro des Arts, Thiptara and of course, the famous Arabian Tea House. A two-course lunch here would only cost you AED 95 while a full three-course meal will set you just AED 150.
Dubai Summer Surprises Lets You Win Prizes
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As if all those discounts aren’t enough, you also get a chance to win some amazing prizes when you shop during Dubai Summer Surprises.
There are more than 20 grand raffles during the course of this event and you can win everything from brand new mobile phones, luxury watches, jewelry and cash.
This year, one very lucky shopper at Wafi City won a stunning 22.2 carat diamond necklace and earring set, which cost around AED 70,000.
Six very lucky guests also took home brand new GAC GS8 2024 vehicles just by spending AED200. The Dubai Festival City Mall also held daily raffle draws with two brand new Lexus cars as the grand prizes.
In true Dubai style, there are no limits to what you can win during Dubai Summer Surprises because more than AED 25 million worth of prizes are up for grabs!