Nazan Onu, a Turkish tourist and Elena Mavrayeva, a Dubai resident from Uzbekistan have won AED 100,000 each and have already started spending their windfalls by shopping at their two favorite malls!
 

The construction work of JW Marriot Hotel and the IMG Academies is scheduled to begin in September 2009. The first phase of DLC is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

The projects network infrastructure work at the development is now complete. This includes the 100 per cent completion of the road networks, telecommunication, surface water drainage, sewage network, irrigation networks, fire-fighting system, street lighting and portable water network. The completion of the infrastructure work on the project site will help the progress of the construction activities.

Mr. Arif B. Rahman, Managing Director for Dubai Lifestyle City, said, “We are proud to share our progress and reaffirm our commitment to this unique project. The appointment of Saleh Constructions has been in line with our efforts to ensure superiority and, yet, maintain a swift pace in the construction work. The Dubai Lifestyle City has made a promise to deliver a first-of-its-kind haute living experience and we are on track to deliver the promise.”

Mohammed Al Habbai, Senior Vice President at Dubailand, added, “Dubai Lifestyle City is a unique project, which we are all very excited about. It will offer a different type of living experience and we are proud to have the project as part of Dubailand, through which we will continue to provide our full support to ensure the timely delivery of the project.”

Dubai Lifestyle City, has been conceptualized by the ETA Star group, is well en-route to raising the bar on “haute living”. Spread over a sprawling 4 million square feet enclave, the exclusive self-sufficient residential community has entered into partnerships with some of the most respected leaders from a variety of fields, including JW Marriott, IMG Academies, Microsoft, and CISCO to create 68 Tuscan-themed villas and 120 villettes (apartments), all conceived by Tony Ashai the celebrated Beverley Hills designer.

As the building contractor specialising in masonry, Bob will appear with his colleague and business partner Wendy, and Spud, the mischievous scarecrow. The ‘Sunflower Sailor’ is based on a story where Wendy clears her garage and Bob helps her use some of the old materials to build a boat, an idea suggested by Spud. The three then set off on a sailing adventure.

Bob the Builder shows how a positive attitude, problem-solving, teamwork and follow-through are the necessary tools to complete every job and he has become a role model for children to build on. The ‘Sunflower Sailor’ will be a twenty-minute musical show with spectacular stage settings.

Show timings are 6:00pm and 8:00pm (Saturday to Wednesday), 5:30pm, 7:30pm, and 9:30pm (Thursday and Friday). There will be no shows on Tuesday.
 

The new mobility store will enable customers to browse through the latest mobile phones including the Nokia N97 and the Apple iPhone, PDA’s, MP3 and MP4 players, GPS, Netbooks and all mobile accessories.

Customers will also be able to subscribe to new mobile phone connections or purchase recharge cards at the dedicated Etisalat and du counters.

The plan provides a fair system for all shoppers who drive to the malls giving the first three hours of parking free during the weekdays and the first four hours on weekends i.e. Fridays and Saturdays. For customers who wish to watch a movie at the malls’ CineStar cinemas, free parking will be extended by an additional hour on both weekdays and weekends.

The new system is based on industry research showing an average of 70 per cent of shoppers spend three hours or less in the malls during the week and four hours over the weekend.

Majid Al Futtaim Group, which owns Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre have been strong supporters of the Dubai Metro since its planning stage and it has sponsored the stations outside the mall naming them Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre Stations.

Fareed Abdelrahman, Vice-President, Divisional Asset Management for Majid Al Futtaim Properties, said the main aim is to ensure customer comfort and convenience with the new system. “With the Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre Metro stations so conveniently situated there was the need for a parking management system to ensure parking remains accessible for our customers.”

“Unlike other systems in place in Dubai, it is not dependant on how much you spend or what time of the day you visit, and the free parking actually lasts longer than the average amount of time spent by shoppers in both malls,” he said.

“It was very important for us to strike a balance between giving our customers easy access to free parking while ensuring our car parks at Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre do not become park and ride stops for Metro users,” Abdelrahman concluded.

To introduce the system to the malls’ visitors, a free trial period will begin on August 9, which will include the use of entry and exit barriers, ticket collection points and instructions. Charges will only apply from September 10, a day after the Dubai Metro begins its service.

Parking beyond three hours on weekdays will be charged at the rate of AED 20 for every additional hour for the next three hours. Over the weekend, the first and second extra hours above the four hours will be charged at AED 40 and AED 60 respectively.

Courtesy parking crews will be stationed around the two malls to help customers adapt to the new system, ensuring their continued enjoyment of the best shopping, leisure and entertainment experience in the city.

Tom Miles, Director of Shopping Centres, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate said that, “This Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS), Festival Centre has yet again managed to successfully offer very high standards of entertainment as well as retail offers to all our guests. The DSS special House of Illusions Dinner Show managed to win hearts and gain steady popularity while our roaming mascots ensured that visiting guests at the retail centre were kept thoroughly entertained. From 2008 till this date, Festival Centre overall footfall soared to 42% and boost up to 18% during June, the first month of DSS. This is a strong indication of the growing popularity of Festival Centre and our patrons have proven time and again that we have now become their destination of preference. “We aim to continue our successful collaboration with the DSF Committee and continue to host such challenging events over the months to come,” he added.

One of the main attractions organized by Dubai Festival City, House of Illusions, proved to be an instant success in the first week of its opening. Combining an atmosphere of fine dining, entertainment, and spectacular settings, the event has attracted full-house crowds since the first show. Another attraction currently running at Dubai Festival City is the Dolls Art Exhibition, featuring numerous dolls created by renowned doll artists from around the world.

Dubai Festival City is also a member of the Dubai Shopping Malls Group and is participating in the Surprising Millions campaign during DSS. Shoppers at the mall stand to win cash prizes of AED 500,000 every week. With a month left for DSS to conclude, Dubai Festival City will be looking forward to an increase in DSS sales and footfall.

Organized annually by DMC in partnership with the International Advertising Association (IAA) and presented by Ziad Galadari Group, the region’s most prestigious awards for emerging media talent will honour outstanding talent in 12 categories.

Themed ‘Let It Out’, the competition will recognise best submissions in journalism (non-news), radio feature, animation, graphic design, analogue photography, digital photography, print advertising, TV advertising, film TV feature, film TV documentary and mobile film.

A new category – Digital Designs – has been included in this year’s awards, to recognise outstanding work in digital interfaces for websites, mobiles, DVDs and other on-screen media. The Award will be based on how the design and information architecture work together to create a motivating and compelling experience for the user.

As part of TECOM’s effort to spread the green concept, DMC has opened online submissions for the entries this year to digitally accept applications in selected categories.

Open to all undergraduate and fresh graduates of the 2009-2010 academic year, the Ibda’a Awards will accept entries from 16 August – 8 October, 2009. Shortlisted entries will be showcased at an exhibition from 15-20 November, while winners will be acknowledged during a gala awards ceremony on 19 November.

Mohammed Abdullah, Executive Director of Dubai Media City, said: “The Ibda’a Student Media Awards represent our commitment to creating a platform for the young generation to display their creativity and ensure the opening of additional avenues for individual professional growth. The awards motivate talented youngsters to come forward with their creative best and launch into exciting career paths.

“In our committed endeavour to go green, we aim to raise awareness on the importance of being environment-friendly in every sphere of our operations.”

The Ibda’a Awards 2009 will include new components such as road shows in local colleges and universities. Shortlisted finalists will also be part of the road shows and gain an opportunity to highlight their work in malls, schools, universities, colleges and public places for a bigger interactivity with media and mass public.

Over the years, the Ibda’a Media Student Awards has attracted a multitude of entries from the GCC region and around the globe. Its success is marked by the ever-increasing volume and diversity of entries, and an incrementally higher number of participating countries each year.

Launched by Dubai Media City in June 2001, the Ibda’a Media Student Awards has consistently received support from global media giants and leading media personalities.

This year’s edition of Ibda’a Awards is co-sponsored by Arabian Automobiles, OMD and Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI). While du is the communication partner, ARN, Amrita TV, BBC World, Brash FZ LLC, CNBC Arabia, Emarat Al Youm, Motivate Publishing, Showtime, Xische, Zee TV and Zee Aflam will support the event as the media partners.

ARN, CNN, CNBC Arabia, Brash, Leo Burnett, Xische, MBC, Motivate Publishing, Nikon, Team Young & Rubicam and Zee Aflam will provide awards to the winners.

The previous edition of Ibda’a Awards received more than 2,200 entries from 25 countries including new entrants from Brazil, Poland, Sri Lanka and Sudan. The 42 finalists had their work displayed in a week-long exhibition that generated huge interest among the region’s media professionals.

Entry forms are available on the dedicated website www.ibdaa-awards.ae.

Primarily organized to enhance relations with the diplomatic community in the UAE and increase the understanding of the consulates on DIC’s service offerings, the agenda for the event included an interactive session and presentations by the cluster’s management team.

Majed Al Suwaidi, Director of Commercial Operations, DIC, welcomed the officials representing 20 countries, while Faisal Hammoud, Commercial Operations Manager, offered a presentation on DIC’s value-added services and operational procedures for prospective business partners. Following the presentation, Fareed Abdulrahman, CEO of SmartCity delivered an introduction to the SmartCity Malta and Kochi projects, set to become a leading ICT and media destination in the Mediterranean and first European outpost of the global SmartCity network.

Al Suwaidi said: “The DIC Commercial Operations team was developed to complement the dynamic business environment at the cluster. Representatives in the UAE’s diplomatic community play a key role in attracting business partners to the managed ICT cluster and it is important that we remain transparent in all our procedural measures. We will continue to support businesses that are keen to base their operations in the emirate for gaining better regional foothold.”

Following the presentation, Al Suwaidi joined Abdulrahman, in an interactive Q&A session giving the consulate and embassy representatives an opportunity to respond to questions relating to further collaboration with the ICT cluster.

Manuel Valle, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Spanish Embassy, said: “We are delighted that DIC has organized a networking event that will enable the commercial division of Dubai’s Spanish Embassy to meet and create closer ties with DIC officials. As the formal representative of economic and commercial affairs of Spain in Dubai, it is important that we establish solid understanding of business opportunities and operations in leading commercial hubs like Dubai Internet City so that we offer sound and informed recommendations to prospective Spanish business investors.”

As the region’s leading managed ICT cluster, Dubai Internet City has to date welcomed more business partners than in the first and second quarter of 2008. A pioneering destination, the cluster continues to propel the region’s sustained growth in the ICT sector.

The survey, conducted by BrandIndex and produced by the leading market research company YouGov, showed that the shopping centres were two out of only three UAE homegrown brands in the Top 10 category. The other was Emirates Airline. Most of the top ten were made up of international giants from the automobile, telecom and consumer electronics sectors.

Fareed Abdelrahman, Vice-President, Divisional Asset Management for Majid Al Futtaim Properties said the recent survey results were yet another sign of the success and popularity of the malls. “At our malls, we always strive to ensure that our efforts are in line with the consumer’s preference, convenience and comfort. Surveys such as these recognise our efforts and we are extremely proud of the results.”

BrandIndex has been gathering the views of consumers online each fortnight in eight sectors since March this year. Mall of the Emirates is the only mall in the UAE that has remained in the Top 10 UAE brands since the survey began.

Vivek Wagle, Research Director at YouGov revealed, “Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre have a strong customer orientation and both display high levels of service. Mall of the Emirates is the up-market quality brand in the portfolio while Deira City Centre is perceived to be value based. They also perform well on each other’s strengths i.e. Mall of the Emirates gets second place on value with a score of 43 and Deira City Centre gets the same rank on quality with a similar score. Both the malls are also supported by their unique offerings – Magic
Planet for both and Ski Dubai for Mall of the Emirates that are also strong brands on their own. Then, there is Carrefour as well which helps raise the customer base.”

The exhibition displays the works of 17 talented artists from UAE, Japan, Netherlands, Belgium, China and Canada. Yvonne Flipse, a doll artist from Netherlands, uses her skills in standing figures and lovely fairies taking inspiration from nature, dreams, emotions, and special moments.

On the other hand, Camille Allen is the gifted Canadian artist who concocts miniature babies out of clay. Her determination to imitate realistic details in the face and body of the baby dolls are evident in her beautiful works of art. While renowned artists Yoko Ueno and Chieko Hazeki show an exquisite collection of Japanese dolls wearing the traditional Japanese costume kimono, the Japanese dolls are eye-catching pieces that appear as real depiction of Japanese heritage.

Members of the Dutch and Belgian Institute of Doll Artists (DABIDA) are also presenting numerous dolls in various artful themes and images. Some of their works are dramatic and mimic the elegance of 18th century Europe through detailed work on make-up and costumes. Additionally, there are daily performances using exquisitely made wooden marionette puppets that help bring stories to life.

The event opened on July 9 and will go on till July 23 at Level 1, Festival Centre, Dubai Festival City.