Sole DXB at a new venue, three nights.

What the organiser says

The festival’s own site lists Sole DXB for 11 to 13 December 2026 at The Square, Nad Al Sheba, with three days of music, fashion, art and sport. It says 3-day passes are on sale and that single-day tickets will be released soon. All tickets go through Platinumlist. We do not sell tickets and are not the organiser’s transport provider.

On 31 October 2026 the line-up page showed, for the main stage, Overmono (live) and Masego on Friday; Lola Young, Nia Archives, Naisha and Smino on Saturday; and Rema, Odeal and Hajaj on Sunday. A second stage has its own acts each day. The organiser says set times will be announced soon, so none of this fixes your day yet.

A news report seen in a search summary says the festival has left its former home at Dubai Design District for this site. If so, old access details from earlier years no longer apply. Check the organiser’s notices before you book transport, and if dates change we adjust a quote.

The organiser’s guide page

The organiser has a short guide page for visitors. It tells car travellers to plan their route and drop-off times because the area can get busy, and it warns that phone signal may drop at peak hours, so groups should set meeting points. It also says December temperatures can reach 21 to 27 C. These are the organiser’s words. We add one planning point: agree a meeting point and a collection time with your group before you arrive, because you cannot count on a call.

The numbers: modelled drive times

These figures are modelled: OpenStreetMap routing, free-flow, no traffic, no stops. They go to the centre of the Nad Al Sheba 1 area, not to a gate, because no gate has been published. Add time for queues and for the final approach.

Our hotel drive times guide covers the airport legs for other hotel areas.

What is not published

A ticket-seller page, which we saw only in a search summary and could not open, reports festival hours of 16:00 to 02:30 and limited paid parking at the venue. Treat both as unconfirmed until the organiser prints them.

We found no gate times, no vehicle drop-off point, no shuttle, no Metro link, no re-entry rule, no bag rules and no set times. We do not guess any of them. We agree a drop-off point and a collection point with you once the organiser publishes them, and we cannot promise that a vehicle may wait at or near a gate.

Planning the three nights: an example

If the reported 02:30 finish is right, the return is the hard part. A crowd leaves together, vehicles queue to get out, and a group has to find each other first. A finish at 02:30 plus a queue of 30 minutes or more puts a departure after 03:00 (our arithmetic, not the organiser’s). From there, the modelled drive to Downtown is about 15 minutes and to Dubai Marina about 33 minutes, before any delay.

This is an example only. A group of eight staying in Downtown might ask for a collection at about 15:00 if the reported 16:00 start holds. They would agree a return time with the vehicle in writing, such as 03:15, and a fallback if someone leaves early. Sunday night matters most for those with a Monday flight: see our night and early morning flight transfers guide before you book the airport run.

Mid-December sunset is around 17:31 in our model, so the programme runs mostly after dark. For other nights out in the same season, our Festival City nights guide shows a similar late plan.

Choosing the vehicle

Festival groups usually carry day bags, not suitcases. Count heads first. Our guide figures:

• Mercedes V-Class: up to 7 passengers and 6 bags.
• 13-seater HiAce: up to 13 passengers and about 10 suitcases.
• Mercedes Sprinter: up to 16 passengers and up to 12 suitcases.
• 30-seater mini coach and 50-seater coach for larger friend groups and tour parties.

How a booked vehicle fits

1. Send the plan. Dates, hotel area, party size and the nights you will attend.
2. Ask for a fixed written quote. Nothing is charged until you confirm.
3. Read the meeting and drop-off arrangement. The quote states it, and we update it when the organiser publishes its notices.
4. Agree the return time. We plan the margin and tell you what is not yet published.
5. Tell us if plans change. We adjust where we can, and cannot promise to beat queues or traffic.

Related: Night and early flights from DXB for groups · Festival City and DSF Nights for a group · How far is Dubai Airport from your hotel area · Peak season booking guide · Event & conference transport · Get a quote

Keep reading

• DXB Terminals 1, 2 and 3 for group leaders: Which DXB terminal each airline uses, where a driver can and cannot wait, the Metro limit, and the drive from each terminal to the Marina, JBR, Palm and Downtown.
• 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.
• 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.
• Festival City and DSF Nights for a group: DSF Nights at Festival Bay, Dubai Festival City: what is confirmed, what happened in 2025, approximate drive times and how a group can plan a late evening.
• Meeting your driver at DXB: Terminals 1, 2 and 3, the walk to arrivals, and exactly where your chauffeur will be waiting.
• New Year’s Day transfers to DXB: Friday 1 January 2027 is a public holiday and the morning after the biggest night of the year. How a group gets to Dubai Airport, what ran last year, and how to plan the pick-up.