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DSF opening put off indefinitely

DUBAI - With the unfortunate demise of His Highness Shaikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, major events in the country have been cancelled or postponed, and many companies and organisations closed throughout the UAE as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

The 11th Dubai Shopping Festival 2006, an annual event in Dubai which was supposed to take off yesterday, has been suspended indefinitely due to the mourning of late Shaikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Organising Committee announced yesterday.

Festival’s coordinator Saeed Al Nabooda said the activities will be resumed after the official seven-day mourning period, at a date to be fixed by the committee.

Meanwhile, the Global Village, another major annual feature of Dubai, will be closed for three days.

Disclosing this, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, Director of Global village, told Khaleej Times: “The Global Village, hopefully, will reopen on Saturday if no new instructions are issued in this regard.”

All Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone departments will be officially closed for a mourning period of three working days from yesterday until Sunday, January 8. The Free Zone will remain closed for a further period of three days, from Monday January 9, until Wednesday, January 11, for Eid Al Adha. The Free Zone will be operational again from 7.30am on Thursday, January 12.

The Dubai Government announced a mourning period restricting entertainment activities, including The Fatboy Slim concert due on Thursday, January 5. While the government is trying to reschedule the event, ticket-holders should contact their local ticket outlet for information on the new date and/or for details regarding ticket refunding.

Sponsors, suppliers and media partners will be kept informed of any developments in this connection.

Other cancelled events include the Dubai Marathon 2006, the Delhi Day at the India Pavilion of the Global Village, ‘The Sax on the Sheets’ launch scheduled to take place on January 7, and the ABB Conference at Le Reve Tower that was due on Sunday, January 8.

A number of shopping malls in Dubai closed down late in the afternoon after instructions from the authorities. Shoppers were asked to leave and subsequently lights were put off and the malls closed.