2003 FUN FAIR TO HAVE DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF RIDES
The fun fair at the 2003 Global Village, the annual Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) international attraction, will be almost twice as big as 2002 with double the number of rides.
Spanning 28,430 square metres, the Global Village fun fair will have 52 rides and 45 skill games and feature a go-kart track next year.
“The mix of rides and games has been designed to ensure the fun fair is a true family entertainment destination,” said Alan Gordon, General Manager, Global Village.
“We learnt a great deal from hosting the Global Village in 2002 when over 2.5 million people visited and in 2003 we will deliver new and innovative ways of enhancing the attraction. All ages and nationalities will find something that appeals to them when the Global Village opens its doors on January 15th.”
HB Leisure, one of the UK’s top fun fair organisers, said it chartered space on two ships to bring all the attractions to Dubai.
“We chartered a major roll-on-roll-off vessel to ship all the rides to Dubai and still that wasn’t big enough,” said Tim Batstone, CEO & Executive Chairman, HB Leisure Limited. “Another four rides had to go on a separate ship. It would be an understatement to say looking forward to staging what we believe will be the biggest and most spectacular fun fair ever seen in Dubai.”
In addition to all the attractions HB Leisure is shipping in, the UK fun fair specialist is also bringing a clown act to Global Village 2003.
“The famous ‘Rastellis’ clown troupe will perform three 25-minute shows a night during the week and four at weekends,” said Batstone.
The Global Village, located near to Garhoud Bridge, is being permanently hosted by Dubai Festival City, a key sponsor of the Dubai Shopping Festival. The Dubai Festival City development is the signature ‘city-within-a-city’ project being developed on the banks of Dubai Creek by the Al-Futtaim Group.
“Dubai Festival City is all about living, shopping, dining, working and playing,” explained Lee Tabler, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Festival City Development. “In that spirit, it gives us great pleasure once again to associate our development with the unique tradition of colour, fun, music, food, culture, and entertainment, that is the Dubai Shopping Festival’s Global Village.
“A key part of our aim in hosting the Global Village is to promote Dubai as a leading family entertainment centre within the Middle East and beyond.”
Dubai Festival City Development has this year introduced upgraded infrastructure to ease access to the Global Village 2003. This includes at least three main road entrances, more parking spaces, shuttle transport within the parking lots and a dedicated public transport co-ordination system.
Zoned Global Village parking lots will accommodate 13,000 vehicles daily, a 30% increase on last year.
“The Global Village will also have extended opening times in 2003 with the attractions operating from 2pm until 1am during the week and from 2pm until 2am at weekends," said Gordon. “Combined with the increased parking, this will give visitors much more flexibility in deciding when to go.”
Global Village 2003 will be jointly produced and managed by DSF and the Al-Futtaim Group, the owner/developer of Dubai Festival City. Global Village 2003 will feature pavilions, the fun fair, stage and street entertainment, restaurants, coffee shops and a new children’s play area.
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Notes To Editors:
Dubai Festival City is being developed on 1,200 acres on the banks of Dubai’s historic Creek. Comprising 15 distinct development zones, Dubai Festival City is a property development by the Al-Futtaim Group and is the Middle East’s largest mixed-use real estate project. The privately-funded property will comprise a unique mix of entertainment, dining, shopping, edutainment, sport and leisure facilities, automotive dealerships, hotels, a marina, residential and office components. For sporting enthusiasts, an 18-hole recreational golf course designed by world-renowned golf course designer Robert Trent Jones II LLC and other world-class sporting facilities are also being incorporated into the overall development.
For further information, please contact:
Niall McLoughlin
Communications Manager
PO Box 7976, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +9714 228 5555
Fax: +9714 227 7567
Email: niall.mcloughlin@alfuttaim.co.ae
© Press Release 2002
