DSF Nights at Festival Bay, for groups.

What is confirmed about DSF Nights

Press coverage of the 2026/27 Dubai Shopping Festival, from 14 to 16 October 2026, names e& DSF Nights as a live-music programme. Reports place it at Festival Bay, Dubai Festival City. One outlet says Dubai Festival City and another says Festival Bay, so we use both names for the same place.

That is where the confirmed list ends. The artists have not been announced. The nights, the start times and the entry rules have not been announced. We cannot say whether a given night is free to attend or needs a ticket, and we sell no tickets. The organiser, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), said the full programme would follow within about a month of 14 October.

So if you see a site that lists headliners and dates for DSF Nights today, treat it as a guess until it matches the organiser’s page on visitdubai.com.

What happened here last year

Last year’s arrangements show what an evening here can look like. They are not a promise for this year.

• In 2025, DSF Nights at Festival Bay opened the festival with fireworks at 8:30pm on the first Saturday, according to the Dubai Media Office.
• On National Day 2025, 2 December, Festival Bay was reported as one of the fireworks sites, with a show at 8pm.
• The 2025 list of partner malls included Dubai Festival City Mall, among a dozen or so others across Dubai.

Those are 2025 facts. No 2026/27 firework time has been published, so do not build a booking around 8:30pm.

Where Festival City is, and the public options

Dubai Festival City is in the Al Ras Al Khor area, on the Dubai Creek side of the city. By road it is about 5 km from Dubai Airport, which makes it one of the closest big venues to the airport. It is further out from the beach districts.

We have not found a published opening-hours page for Festival City Mall that we could read, and no venue-specific transport scheme for DSF Nights. Before you add a private vehicle, look at what already exists.

• The RTA journey planner shows the nearest Metro and bus stops for the venue, and the times of the last services for the night you plan to go.
• Taxis and ride-hailing work well for two to four people. After a show that ends for thousands at once, expect to queue.
• The organiser’s page on visitdubai.com and the venue’s own notices are where any entry rule, ticket or access change will appear.

A private vehicle makes sense when a group of eight or more wants to arrive together, sit together and leave together without splitting into several taxis.

Approximate drive times to Festival City

The figures below come from our own route model, run on 29 October 2026. They are free-flow estimates with no traffic and no event congestion, rounded to the nearest five minutes. The upper end adds about a quarter. Evening traffic and show exits will be slower, sometimes much slower.

The gap between the airport side of Dubai and the Marina side is the point. A Deira or Downtown hotel is a short run. A Marina, JBR or Palm hotel is the best part of an hour once the evening traffic builds, and the drive back at midnight is the longer decision. Distances are approximate within about ten percent.

Planning a late evening as a group

We are Dubai Bus Services, a private company. We are not appointed by DFRE, Dubai Festival City or any of the artists’ promoters, and our vehicles are not part of the festival. What we provide is a pre-booked vehicle and driver. Here are three ways groups use one for an evening out.

• Arrive and return later. The vehicle drops the group at an agreed point, the driver leaves, and comes back at a time you set. It suits a show that ends at a known hour.
• Driver on call. The vehicle waits nearby and the group calls when it is ready. This suits a show whose finish is not fixed, which is the position right now, and it works with the hourly chauffeur style of booking.
• Dinner first, show second. The group eats near the hotel or at the mall, then moves to the venue together. If there are two parties in one hotel, two smaller vehicles can go in two waves.

On a night with a crowd, the hardest part is the pick-up. Agree one meeting point with the driver before you go, keep the driver’s number saved, and decide in advance what to do if someone leaves the group early. Our late-night exit plan for the Sevens sets out how that works after a big stadium evening, and the same habits apply here.

We cannot say which drop-off point a coach or van may use at Festival Bay, because we have found no published rule. We never assume a bay. We confirm the point against the organiser’s and the venue’s notices before the day, and put it in your plan.

Picking the vehicle

The Mercedes V-Class suits a small party of up to seven. The 13-seater van and the Mercedes Sprinter suit a mid-size party. The 30-seater mini coach and the 50-seater coach suit a tour group or a company evening. For an event with a booked guest list, the VIP events page explains how we handle it.

Before you fly

Entry rules depend on your passport. Check the official UAE government visa page before you book.

Festival City is close to the airport, so a group landing in the evening can be at the venue soon after. Read the big group arrival at DXB page for how a pick-up works with many bags, and note that December is peak season, so larger vehicles go early.

Asking for a quote

Send us your dates, the number of people, where you are staying and whether you want a drop and return, or a driver on call. We reply with a fixed written quote before you accept. Use the booking page. If DFRE publishes the DSF Nights programme after you book, tell us and we adjust the pick-up times to suit.

Related: Dubai 7s late night exit plan · Big group arrival at DXB · Peak season booking guide · Event & conference transport · Party bus rental · Coach rental Dubai · Dubai airport transfer for groups · Get a quote

Keep reading

• Dubai Shopping Festival 2026/27 group plan: Dubai Shopping Festival runs 4 December 2026 to 17 January 2027. What is confirmed so far, what is not, and how a group can plan around it.
• DSF Hatta Wadi Hub day trip: The Dubai Shopping Festival adds a Hatta Wadi Hub programme. What is confirmed, what is not, how far it is, and how a group gets there and back in one day.
• City tour by private minibus: A one-day Dubai city tour route for a group, how a private minibus compares with a hop-on hop-off bus, and what each option costs per head.
• Downtown and Business Bay to the Sevens: Staying in Downtown Dubai or Business Bay for the Emirates Dubai 7s: the drive to The Sevens Stadium, how the free festival buses compare and how to split a group.
• Expo City Dubai chauffeur: Exhibitors, speakers and VIP guests to Expo City Dubai, dropped at the right gate every day of the show.
• DXB airport to Expo City for GITEX: Landing at Dubai International for GITEX Global 2026 and heading to Expo City: Metro, taxi or a pre-booked vehicle, hotel first or venue first, bags and the return.