The popular 32-day Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) opened today with more than 6,000 shopping outlets and 50 malls taking part in the event.

The 16th edition of DSF was kicked off with a spectacular opening ceremony at the Dubai Creek Park.

The Dubai sky will shine with bright colours with fireworks display starting at 8:30 pm simultaneously from several areas across the city including the Dubai Creek Park, the area opposite the Heritage Village in Shandagha, Global Village, and the Dubai Outlet Mall.

The festival is expected to attract millions of shoppers from around the globe. The shopping is tax free and discounts are significant.

The theme of the festival is 'One World One Family One Festival'.

There are many different promotions throughout the event. The Lexus Mega Raffle is being sponsored by the festival organizers. The winner gets Dh100,000 in cash and one Lexus LX570 each day for the 32 days of the DSF. A Lexus LS600 will also be given away at the close of the DSF. The raffle tickets are Dh200.

The Nissan Mega Raffle is giving away a free Nissan SUV for each of the 32 days of the festival. The Jewellery and Gold group are offering shoppers chance to win gold or cash each day.

While the entire city is being lit up and decorated in bright colours for the 16th edition of DSF, Dubai’s four prominent streets – Al Riqqa, Al Seef, Al Diyafa and The Walk at Jumeirah Reach Residence (JBR) – will host many festivities with each street reflecting a different theme.

Al Riqqa would pack in fun fairs and rides, Al Seef Street will be all about art and culture, while Al Diyafa Street will be decked in dazzling lights. The Walk at JBR will host a variety of fun and shopping events including a week-long performance by renowned jazz artists as part of the Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival.

‘Dinolive’ – a dinosaur show running daily between 9am and 12noon from January 20 to March 31, 2011, is slated to be another crowd puller. The show consists of life-size moving dinosaur models in inflatable tents. It will also include children activities and a 3D cinema.