Curtains come down on momentous 15th edition of DSF

The 15^th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival came to a glittering close at the One and Only – Royal Mirage on Sunday, February 28, after 32 days of festivities across Dubai.

The ceremony was attended by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council; His Highness Sheikh Hasher Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, Director General, Government of Dubai Information; His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Dubai Department of Economic Department; Laila Suhail, CEO of Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, Ibrahim Saleh, Coordinator General, and a host of important officials, in addition to local, regional, and international media.

Apart from honouring the key sponsors of this year’s Festival, the ceremony also witnessed the prize distribution to winners of the DSF 2010 Innovation, Journalism, and Photography Awards.

The evening began with the UAE national anthem performed by young talents of the Emirates Symphony Orchestra after which audiences were taken on a short journey of the highlights of DSF 2010 through a video clip.

Addressing the gathering on behalf of the Department of Economic Department, His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi said, “Fifteen years ago, in the month of February 1996, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime minister, and Ruler of Dubai, announced the launch of the first edition of Dubai Shopping Festival - an event that has significantly contributed in transforming the commercial and tourism sectors in the Emirate, registering bigger achievements year on year.”

During his address, HE Qamzi stated that DSF’s success had been due to five elements, Dubai’s Government, Dubai’s Private Sector, Dubai’s Infrastructure, Dubai’s Media and Dubai’s people, all bonded by one aim one aim which was to position Dubai as the leading hub for travel and tourism in the world.

HE also said that the transformation of Dubai Shopping Festival Office into Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment as an entity under the Department of Economic Development was the decision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who has now granted the Establishment an enhanced mandate to achieve targets of strengthening and developing Dubai’s retail and tourism sectors.

DSF 2010 Innovation Awards

The 2010 Innovation Awards featured nine awards in the mall and retail categories to honour the most creative initiatives in the retail industry. Best Shopping Mall Décor: BurJuman, Best Shopping Mall Customer Service: Dubai Festival City and Mall of the Emirates, Best Communication Programme for a Shopping Mall: Lamcy Plaza, Outstanding DSF 2010 Shopping Mall: The Dubai Mall, Most attractive Retail Point of Sale Display: Sharaf DG, Best Retail Customer Service: Life Health Care Group, Best Communication of a Retail Promotion: Debenhams, Best Value For Money Outlet: Sun and Sand Sports LLC, Outstanding DSF 2010 Retail Outlet: Sony Gulf FZE and Harvey Nichols.

DSF 2010 Journalism Awards

The 2010 Journalism Award featured five categories, with a new category for the Best Daily Coverage. In the Best Local Feature category, Cleofe Maceda of Gulf News was adjudged the winner while Zaher Bitar, also of Gulf News, came second. A Special Jury Citation was awarded to Rachel McArthur of Emirates Business 24-7. Lily Libo-On, of Khaleej Times bagged the DSF Prolific Writer award while the award for the Best Daily Coverage in Newspapers went to Gulf News. Sandeep Singh, of the Bahrain Tribune, won the award for the Best Pan Arab English Feature.

DSF 2010 Photography Awards

The DSF 2010 Photography Award was instituted to honour the efforts of press photographers in communicating the messages of DSF through images. Winners were awarded in two categories, DSF Shopping and DSF Celebrations. Kamal Kassim, of Gulf Today bagged the first prize in the DSF Celebrations category, followed by Javed Ahmed Khan of Gulf News. The third prize was shared by Arshad Ali and Nadia Saleem, both of Gulf News. In the DSF Shopping category, Hadrian Hernandez of Gulf News was adjudged the winner, while Emad Alaaddein of Al Bayan, and Walid Qadoura, also of Al Bayan took the second and third places respectively.

The key sponsors of DSF 2010 were also honoured on stage where representatives of the leading private and public sector entities were presented mementos by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council. His Highness Sheikh Hasher Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, Director General, Government of Dubai Information, handed out the prizes to the winners of the DSF 2010 Innovation, Journalism, and Photography Awards and also handed a special award to the safety committee comprising of Dubai Police and Dubai Civil Defence.

The evening ended with a dazzling display of fireworks and a scintillating jazz performance by the Cabaret Jazz band.