Dubai-based multicultural festival park Global Village closed the gates on its biggest ever season on April 13, 2019. The 23rd season of Global Village Season 23 welcomed a record-breaking number of more than 7 million guests over 166 days of operation, a jump of more than 16% over the previous season.
Global Village closed Season 23 completing more than AED3 billion worth of business transactions, after hosting more than 3,500 outlets showcasing cultures of 78 countries, all catered to with a combined staff of more than 10,000 partners and employees from 95 nationalities.
With Season 23, Global Village achieved quantitative increases in all categories of evaluation, with the largest number of outlets and offerings in shopping, entertainment and dining. It hosted the biggest festivals, concerts, shows and events, games and activations in its history. Even as it went big, it improved its Guest Happiness Index score to 9.1/10, up from the 9.0/10 of the previous season. The significant increase in the number of guests was greeted with superior infrastructure – increased parking spaces, new flat crossovers replacing the bridges, expanded multi-use walkways, new green spaces and additional seating areas. The flow of guest arrivals, internal traffic and departures were smooth with no congestions during the entire season.
“We are proud to deliver another superlative performance with Season 23. We continue to be the number one family, culture and entertainment destination in the UAE, and we are proud to be the reason for the smiles of more than 7 million guests who visited us. Happiness of our guests is our utmost priority and we are delighted to have scored 9.1 over 10 in our Guests Happiness Index, despite the 16% increase in our guest numbers this season,” says Bader Anwahi, CEO, Global Village.
“The success of Season 23 is a significant milestone in the evolution of Global Village. We are honoured to lead the entertainment industry in the UAE and are now well positioned to take our place among the world’s leading entertainment destinations. Global Village has now become a permanent fixture in the itineraries of tourists that visit the region from far and wide, as positive awareness and commentary about our guest experiences have spread worldwide via social and media channels. We take the success of Season 23 to be our anchor point as we continue to deliver more great seasons to millions of our guests,” he adds.
For Season 23, Global Village brought in a series of innovations for the first time. It hosted the world’s first multi-cultural floating market, bringing popular cuisines through 38 outlets from boats, bank-side kiosks and Tuk-Tuks. Other firsts include its dancing fountains with light and sound shows on the largest underwater screen; the all new ‘Wheel of World’ of 60m height, with an enormous 50-meter LED screen; an interactive Kids’ Theatre that hosted a variety of events and workshops for children; the Super Loop stunt show, a full-scale stunt show featuring breath-taking performances by more than 30 professional stunt performers; the ‘Live our Heritage’ festival, featuring the best of Emirati culture and craftsmanship hosted by Dubai Culture; and eight new flat bridges that replicated the most famous architectural icons in the world.
Season 23 brought in a brand-new Carnaval funfair experience with more than 30 exhilarating rides, 30 skill games and 100+ Arcade games. Guests also enjoyed the brand new “Circus Circus” show, which was hosted throughout the season at the new Circus tent in the Carnaval and showcased the best classical circus shows and performances from around the world in a unique atmosphere. Further, Global Village continued to be one of the UAE’s favourite concert destinations with 24 concerts taking place on Main Stage in Season 23.
Cultures of more than 78 countries through 27 pavilions with distinctive facades, showcased the world’s most beautiful monuments and civilizations. New cultural experience zones at pavilion entrances highlighted the most important features of the various countries to enrich the visitors’ cultural experience. The pavilions hosted more than 3,500 retail outlets. A highlight of the season was the wide choice of food and beverage options from 24 restaurants and cafés and more than 140 F&B kiosks spread across the park.
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