Global Village, the world’s leading multicultural Festival Park and the region’s first family destination for culture, shopping, and entertainment, celebrated its most successful Season 23 with its partners at its annual Awards Night. The Global Village Awards Night honoured partners, government authorities and members of the media who contributed to the success of its record-breaking Season 23 which concluded on 13^th April 2019.

The ceremony began with highlights of Season 23 and a few words from Bader Anwahi, Chief Executive Officer of Global Village, as he reiterated the vision of being a truly global brand and contributing to Dubai’s vision. He acknowledged and thanked the individuals and teams involved in the success of the Season 23 and used the opportunity to announce the dates of the upcoming Season 24 which will commence on 29^th October 2019 and continue for 159 days until 4^th April 2020.

Addressing the audience, Bader Anwahi said: “The unprecedented success of our 23^rd season has shown that the corporate strategy of broad-basing the appeal of Global Village and reaching more audience groups, both within and outside the UAE, is working. We continue to remain in-step with changes in the entertainment industry as well as the tastes and preferences of our guests as we contemporise our core offering that encompasses shopping, dining, entertainment and fun-fair. In our efforts, we are helped immensely by the efforts of our strategic partners including government authorities, investors, media agencies, tour operators and other partners that make up more than 10,000 people who work hand in hand with us every season to achieve great successes. We are proud of what we’ve achieved this far as we grow in line with the nation’s vision and objectives and we aim to build upon the success of our current season as we prepare for our next one.”

The ceremony honoured key government authorities who played a vital role throughout the season, hosting millions of guests in the utmost comfort. These included Dubai Police, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services, Directorate General of Civil Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dubai Executive Council, Dubai Media Office, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Dubai Customs, Dubai Culture and Art Authority, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, Dubai Municipality, Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, Group Security, Roads and Transport Authority, Department of Economic Development, Security Industry Regulatory Agency, Dubai Media Incorporated, Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center, Dubai SME, Ministry of Community Development, Arabian Radio Network, Dubai Festivals and Retails Establishment, Hamdan Sports Complex, Dubai Taxi Corporation and Prime Healthcare Group.

Acknowledging the UAE government authorities’ invaluable support, Bader Anwahi said, “Our strategic partnership with various government departments is one of the most important factors of success in all our seasons. Having their constant support helps us to ensure comfortable guest experiences and support in achieving our vision.”

During the ceremony, Bader Anwahi also addressed the members of the media and said: “We thank all the reporters, photographers and media organizations who have contributed to bringing Global Village news and events to the public. Season 23 Media Awards saw many creative entries and they all played a crucial role in creating awareness of our new features and facets and delivering our offerings to the millions of our guests from around the world.”

At the ceremony had the ‘Best Media Coverage in English’ award was presented to the Gulf News team and the ‘Best Article in English’ award to Katy Gillett from The National. The ‘Best Asian Media Coverage’ went to Savad Rahman from Gulf Madhyamam, while Faisal Chentrappinni from Siraj Daily won the ‘Best Article in Asian’ award and the ‘Best Broadcast coverage’ went to Arun Kumar from AsiaNet News.

From the Arabic media, Shireen Farouq from Al Bayan newspaper won the ‘Best Media Coverage in Arabic’, while Shaimaa Yahia from Emarat AlYoum won the ‘Best Article in Arabic’ and Bayan AlSatri from Al Bayan won the ‘Best Social Media Impact’.

Maha Adel from Al Khaleej was awarded the ‘Global Village Award for Journalistic Creativity’ and Nahed Hmood from AlRoeya won the ‘Global Village Award for Innovative Journalism’ while Mostafa Abdul Azim from Al Ittihad were awarded ‘Global Village Award for Journalistic Excellence’ and Ehsan Naji from Al Ittihad also won ‘Best Photography Coverage’.

Awards were also presented to top performing tour operators who were recognized for their impeccable efforts throughout the season. Bader Anwahi said: “Our valuable partnerships with key tour operators is key for us being at the top of the must-visit destinations lists of tourists to the UAE. We are proud to have welcomed more than 2 millions tourists in our Season 23, reflecting 30% of our guests, and we extend our gratitude to the 100+ tour operators from around the world who will help us grow this number further.”

Rayna Tours was awarded the ‘Top Performer’ in this category while Anex Tourism won the ‘Top Performer in New Market’ and Royal Arabian Destination Management was awarded ‘Top Package Seller’.

The Awards Night concluded by recognizing and honouring Global Village’s partners in success who introduced innovative ideas and showcased their unique cultures, food, and heritage. The Morocco Pavilion was awarded the ‘Best Pavilion Award’ for its unique cultural and entertainment experiences that attracted millions of guests throughout the season and was the favourite of the mass audience. The Iran Pavilion won the award for the ‘Best Pavilion Façade’ for showcasing the nation’s rich cultural heritage. The Africa Pavilion won ‘Best Pavilion Craftsmanship’ Award while the Europe Pavilion won the ‘Best Pavilion Cultural Show’ award.

The popular Super Slice Pizza kiosk won the ‘Best Kiosk Award’, while Punjabi Village won the ‘Best Restaurant Award’, for serving the most delectable dishes that were appreciated by guests of all ages.

London Dairy Café won the ‘Best Retail Award’ for its outstanding service this season, and Chick’n Cone kiosk won the ‘Best SME kiosk’. Last but not least, the Haunted House won the ‘Best Walk-in-Attraction’ title.

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 percent over the previous season. It completed more than AED 3 billion worth of business transactions, hosted more than 3,500 outlets, showcasing cultures of 78 countries, all catered to by a combined staff of more than 10,000 partners and employees from 95 nationalities. It improved its Guest Happiness Index score to 9.1/10, up from the 9.0/10 of the previous season, a testament to its much appreciated qualitative improvements.

The multi-cultural festival park is gearing up for another great Season 24 launching October 29, 2019, and it is currently accepting registrations from interested investors to join its success stories with their creative and innovative ideas through its website www.globalvillage.ae.