The Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) said the emirate's biggest retail extravaganza - Dubai Shopping Festival 2012- will be held from January 5 to February 5.

The month-long festival will showcase the region’s best in shopping, winning, and family entertainment, said a Depe statement.

The shopping extravaganza attracts millions of visitors each year to Dubai for 32 days of intense shopping, entertainment, and also offering them chance to win prizes worth millions of dirhams, it added.

‘Dubai at its best’ is the marketing slogan for the 2012 edition of DSF and symbolizes the best of what Dubai has to offer for residents and visitors.

Over 6000 retail outlets are expected to offer spectacular discounts throughout the festival in addition to chances of winning prizes ranging from luxury cars and gold to cash each day of the event.

A whopping Dh1.4 billion worth of prizes have been given away since the first DSF began in 1996.  

In addition to the shopping and prizes, hundreds of events await residents and visitors in the festival's seventeenth edition.

From international concerts, musicals, and shows to sport, outdoor, and fashion events, DSF caters to every age segment.

“DSF is renowned as a global event that attracts visitors from across the world making Dubai a meeting point for diverse cultures. 'Apart from being the anchor in Dubai’s annual events calendar, DSF is a celebration of Dubai at its best,” said the statement.

Launched in 1996 under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, to position Dubai as a leading tourist destination, DSF attracts people of over 200 nationalities, reflecting its famous slogan 'One World, One Family, One Festival'.-TradeArabia News Service