Some of the important festivals that are held in the UAE are :
Abu Dhabi Shopping Festival
Started in 1998 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Abu Dhabi Shopping Festival opened on February 6th with a theme of Gold. Each subsequent week was dedicated to a particular shopping theme including, Fashion, Food and Electronics etc.
Dubai Shopping Festival
The Dubai Shopping Festival is a month-long festival started in 1996 and has won attention and admiration worldwide. Low prices, prizes, cultural events, children's activities, sporting events and spectacular fireworks works as a magnet for local bargain hunters and international travelers.
Dubai Summer Surprises
Dubai also staged a Summer Surprises festival in July. Innovative events included a series of ice surprises, such as igloo building, as well as culture surprises, with participants experiencing a taste of local cuisine at traditional food festivals hosted at many of Dubai's shopping malls.
Sharjah Ramadan Festival
Held during the Holy month of Ramadan, the Sharjah festival provides wholesome entertainment for the family with lots of shopping bargains, entertainment events etc.
Kite Flying Festival
It was held for the first time at the Dubai Shopping Festival '99. It is a very colorful event with kites from all over the world represented here.
Some of the important fairs that are held in the UAE are :
Sharjah International Book Fair
The Sharjah International Book Fair is organized by the Culture and Information Department in Sharjah. It is a major fair with publishing houses from 37 countries participating in it. It is also supplemented by drama, cinema, poetry, music and seminars and lectures dealing with culture and heritage.
Abu Dhabi Book Fair
Held annually at the Cultural Foundation, the Abu Dhabi Book Fair is a showcase for all the leading distributors in the region.
Trade Shows & Exhibitions
Some of the important Trade Shows & Exhibitions that are held in the UAE are :
International Defense Exhibition - IDEX
IDEX is International Defense Exhibition. It is held every alternate year and gives the military leaders of the UAE to get acquainted with the latest defense technologies and meet with military leaders from around the world.
Triple International Defense Exhibition - TRIDEX
TRIDEX stands for Triple International Defense Exhibition and it was held for the first time in Abu Dhabi in 1998. It is an international exhibition for defense communications, logistics, training and electronic warfare and is held once in two years.
Gulf Information Technology Exhibition - GITEX
The Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) is held at the Dubai World Trade Centre every year and is said to be the world's third largest IT event. The entire Middle East information technology market is represented here and this has made GITEX hugely popular.
Cable and Satellite Broadcast Exhibition - CABSAT
CabSat is the leading event in the region on Cable & Satellite Television technology.
Internet World Middle East
One of the world's leading series of information technology global events held in Abu Dhabi.
