12-hour sale: Your ultimate guide to Dubai Summer Surprises 2020

Dubai is finally welcoming the return of the famous annual shopping festival - Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS). This is the 23rd year that this festival has taken place in Dubai.

The citywide mega event kicks off this Thursday 9 July and will feature seven full weeks of sales, deals, and promotions at Dubai’s malls, attractions as well as leisure destinations until August 29.

Here’s what you can expect this season:

Fireworks at the Pointe

The outdoor dining and shopping destination on the Palm Jumeirah with views of The Atlantis Hotel, will play host to three nights of fireworks and delicious deals at some of its most popular restaurants. The fireworks will take place from July 16 to July 18 at 8.30pm, while residents and visitors can enjoy a special DSS menu daily from July 12 to July 18 with savings of 30 per cent to 50 per cent and “Buy 1, Get 1 Free” offers on selected dishes in participating eateries.

12 hour sale

This year, the fun will start as soon as the malls open their doors to guests on July 9, with a 12 Hour Sale running from 10am until 10pm at Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) malls across Dubai. Visitors can scoop up savings of 25 per cent to 90 per cent on a wide range of products, and those who spend Dh300 will enter the 12 Hour Share Millionaire raffle with a grand lucky draw for 1 million Share Points to spend in MAF malls.

Performances across Dubai

Kids of all ages can enjoy great live entertainment when they visit some of Dubai’s most popular malls, with a variety of performances providing wonderful games, songs and plenty of giggles. Each weekend Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, Dubai Outlet Mall, Nakheel Mall, Ibn Battuta Mall and Dubai Festival City will bring smiles to the faces of visitors with lots of fun entertainment on offer.

Yoga at the top of the Burj Khalifa

Ideal for fitness fans with a head for heights, Yoga At The Top invites guests to enjoy a unique, one of a kind workout at the Burj Khalifa’s At The Top viewing deck. Taking place three times a week during DSS, up to 24 yoga enthusiasts can soak up the early morning views with classes taking place from 7am.

The Yalla DSS game

Readapted and refreshed for the 2020 edition of the festival, the game invites players to complete three Dubai themed challenges, either online or by visiting purpose-built gaming venues at Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, Dubai Outlet Mall, Nakheel Mall, Ibn Battuta Mall, Mercato Mall and Dubai Festival City. Taking place from July 16 to August 29, players can win great shopping vouchers each time they complete a level and progress through the game. This year, Modesh himself will make a special appearance to help players as they take on the tricky challenges to unlock prizes.

Summer style event

This weekend, malls across Dubai will be visited by over 30 influencers who will be challenging the city to ‘Beat their Summer style’ and get to the malls to bag a bargain for themselves. These well-known personalities will be looking for the best deals on clothing, home wear, accessories and beauty and showing everyone the great deals that are on offer this year. Consumers are encouraged to keep an eye out for our local style hunters while they are out shopping this weekend. 

The DSS Daily Surprises

The DSS Daily Surprises return this year with a huge selection of one-day-only deals at big name stores across the city’s malls. Announced 24 hours in advance and available for just one day at a time (and while stocks last), Daily Surprises bring up the excitement levels at DSS with new offers announced every 24 hours. For the first time this year, retailers will run the offer at two different locations on the same day for the safety of shoppers.

Spend and win offers

At Dubai Fesitval City Mall and Festival Plaza, mall goers can discover great deals on everything from designer clothes to their next dream car at Dubai Summer Surprises’ Festival Souk. The family-friendly mall will wow shoppers with mega deals from 50 per cent to up to 90 per cent on a massive range of must-have items. Featuring some of the UAE’s most popular brands, Additionally, one lucky shopper daily will win Dh1,000 in mall gift vouchers on a spend of Dh200 in the Festival Souk in both malls.

Dubai Retail is offering residents and shoppers the chance to win a brand-new Cadillac CT5 as part of a ‘Spend and Win’ promotion running across JBR and Souk Madinat Jumeirah during this year’s DSS. All retail and F&B outlets at both destinations are participating, and any shopper spending over Dh100 in a single visit will have the chance to enter the prize draw.

Taking place from July 9 until August 29, lucky visitors to Al Bustan Centre, Al Barsha Mall, Al Ghurair Centre, Arabian Centre, Bin Sougat Centre, BurJuman, City Centre Al Shindagha, City Centre Me’aisam, Dubai Outlet Mall, Etihad Mall and Reef Mall can win weekly cash prizes of Dh4,000 and Dh50,000 and even luxury cars by spending Dh200.

Lucky visitors to Al Bustan Centre, Al Barsha Mall, Al Ghurair Centre, Arabian Centre, Bin Sougat Centre, BurJuman, City Centre Al Shindagha, City Centre Me’aisam, Dubai Outlet Mall, Etihad Mall and Reef Mall can pick up weekly cash prizes of Dh4,000 and Dh5,000 and even luxury cars when they spend Dh200. The malls will also offer great deals and daily prizes as part of the DSS Back to School Promotion, from August 9 to August 29, and the annual three Days of Eid Al Adha Celebration, from July 30.

Ibn Battuta mall will hand out shopping, entertainment and F&B vouchers as well as other great prizes to fortunate shoppers each day of DSS when they spend Dh200 at any outlet or retail store. On the final day of the mall’s DSS Spend and Win promotion on August 29, Gargash Motors and General Trading will give away a GAC GS8 sports utility vehicle.

Support UAE’s fight against COVID-19

Shoppers can support the UAE’s fight against COVID-19 this DSS with the Shop and Save Lives at Mercato Mall promotion. Dh1 from every Dh100 spent in the mall will be donated to the UAE Homeland of Humanity campaign to combat the virus, which is supported by Emirates Red Crescent and the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities. Visitors to the mall can also have the chance to win Dh1,000 daily on the spend of Dh100.

Giant gumball machine

A giant gumball machine will dish out great prizes to shoppers at Nakheel Mall this DSS. Centrally located in the mall’s atrium, shoppers who spend Dh250 in any store will get the chance to win instant prizes including shopping vouchers hidden in the machine’s super-sized gumballs. There will also be a weekly DSS Golden Gumball grand prize of Dh25,000 in mall vouchers to be won each Tuesday. Additionally shoppers who spend Dh250 at any outlet can enter a raffle to win cash and daily instant prizes of up to Dh350,000.

Ski Dubai offer

Ski Dubai is offering three great promotions throughout DSS and up until August 31. Budding skiers or snowboarders can learn how to perfect their skills in just 48 hours with Ski Dubai’s team of expert instructors providing an intense two-day training session, as well as a tasty hot chocolate at the end of the course. The annual Ski Dubai summer pass returns, with unlimited access to the Snow Park, up to two hours on the slopes, 40 minutes in the Penguin Encounter attraction, or a 60-minute Discovery Lesson. Ski Dubai is also offering three tickets for the price of four, making it the perfect destination for friends and families.

Cinema deals

VOX Cinemas in Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira and City Centre Mirdif will welcome film fans to book their own movie theatre for a Friends and Family-only showing of the latest blockbusters. The Private Cinema screening offer is available throughout DSS. Each auditorium sits up to 10 guests, with Standard Experiences costing Dh450 per person, or Dh800 for Gold. 

Food news and deals

Home cooks can put their culinary skills to the test and learn from Dubai’s best chefs at the DSS Chef Masterclass Series. A chance for amateur cooks and foodies to rub shoulders with their kitchen heroes, the July DSS Chef Masterclass Series will feature a total of 10 classes in the series. This is the perfect opportunity to learn how to make Dubai’s best loved dishes from the city’s award-winning chefs.

The Armani Café in Mall of the Emirates will tempt hungry customers with a “Buy 1, Get 1 Free” offer on its famous Italian pizzas throughout DSS, while family favourite More Café will challenge customers to cook a meal at home using a specially created DSS recipe. The foodie who creates the best-looking meal will win a meal for two at More.

Ocean Basket restaurant in City Centre Mirdif is inviting customers to try their hand at making its famous fish and chips this DSS, with a meal for two people up for grabs for the best dish.

Fans of Magnolia Bakery can create their own versions of the café’s famous cookies with a special DSS cookery box filled with everything home chefs need. Budding bakers need to post a photo of their tasty creations to Magnolia Bakery’s social media channels to win great prizes this DSS. The café will also host in-house bakery classes for customers.

Café Nero will show coffee lovers how to turn their home-made latte into a work of art with four, one-hour live-streamed Master Class Sessions on Instagram. Fans of the café can post photos of their own coffee creations to win a free bag of Café Nero’s signature coffee beans.

Hotel deals

Throughout this year’s DSS, some of the biggest luxury hotels, as well as properties that provide more affordable stays, have great deals available on rooms including F&B packages, spa breaks and fun family experiences.

DSS shoppers will have even more cash to splash in the malls thanks to these great half-price stay deals at some of Dubai’s favourite hotels. Guests checking into the Fairmont The Palm, Movenpick JBR, Amwaj Rotana JBR, and the Address Downtown Hotel will receive up to 50 per cent off their room rate. The savings don’t stop there: The Zabeel Saray Palm hotel is offering up to 40 per cent off to all UAE citizens and residents through DSS, the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach is treating guests to 100 per cent off the cost of a room back in F&B during their stay, the Two Seasons Hotel has reduced the price of rooms by 30 per cent, while guests at the Dusit Thani Dubai will receive Dh300 in F&B vouchers for each Dh450 room booked at the property.

Other great promotions running alongside this year’s DSS include a Book 4 Nights, Pay for 3 offer at the Marina Hotel Apartments, great family friendly suites, complete with breakfast and toys for the little ones, from just Dh399 at InterContinental Dubai Festival City, and exclusive rates for all GCC residents at the Four Points by Sheraton – Sheikh Zayed Road.

Artworks at Nakheel Mall

Visitors to Nakheel Mall, also on the Palm Jumeirah, can enjoy beautiful works of art as they browse the stores. From July 9 to August 29, the landmark mall will host inspiring artworks from international talents displayed as part of the DREAMS exhibit, held in conjunction with the Alserkal Cultural Foundation.

Ripe Market moves indoors

Each Friday and Saturday throughout DSS, the healthy family favourite Ripe Retail Pop Up will offer shoppers at Nakheel Mall a selection of locally made products. The Ripe Retail Pop Up will be open from 10am to 7pm every weekend, with items from 15-20 home-grown businesses selling everything from fashion, art, jewellery, homeware, food and more.