ABU DHABI // Twenty-four-hour shopping, dining and even roller coasters are coming to Abu Dhabi for the first time during Eid Al Fitr.
Yas Mall will be open around the clock from 10am on Sunday, offering discounts and performances by musicians, jugglers and dancers to re-energise sleepy shoppers throughout the night.
“Because this is something that has never been done in Abu Dhabi, we cannot predict footfall,” said Saoud Khoory, general manager of Yas Mall. “But as the mall will be open for extended hours and it is a public holiday, we expect to see a greater number of visitors.”
In a first for the UAE’s theme parks, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will be keeping its rides operating for 24 hours from Sunday. The indoor theme park will be free to enter, with pay-as-you-go ticket options and live DJs playing throughout the night.
Night owls will also be able to watch the Hollywood blockbuster Transformers: The Last Knight in 3-D at Yas Mall's Vox Cinemas, with a screening at 1.30am.
Extended opening hours over the Eid Al Fitr holiday, which marks the end to dawn-to-sunset fasting for Muslims, are common at malls in Dubai. Last year, overnight visitors to Reel Cinema in Dubai Mall could indulge in a movie marathon, with films showing throughout the entire Eid holiday period. In 2013, seven malls in the emirate stayed open for 48 hours over the first weekend of Eid Al Adha.
But not everybody is in favour of 24-hour retail therapy.
Sameera Mohammed, a Pakistani mother of four who lives in Abu Dhabi, said that while she appreciates the convenience of 24-hour shopping, it is important that spirituality and the essence of the holiday are also respected.
“There is always a responsibility that is expected of Muslims and in this case religious commitments must remain the core. Balances must be respected and a sober environment in malls must be encouraged.”
As well as attracting UAE residents, retailers are hoping to lure in visitors from across the Arabian Gulf region during the Eid break.
Last year, the UAE ranked eighth among the top 10 destinations during Ramadan among Muslim travellers, according to a study by Mastercard and Singapore-based halal tourism platform CrescentRating.
Last Friday after sunset, Yas Mall was crowded with shoppers from the Gulf.
Ahmed Hussain, from Saudi Arabia, said he travels to Abu Dhabi every Eid Al Fitr. “I book my holiday around the shopping offers,” he said.
Another shopper, Abdullah Al Hamad from Bahrain, said he would be celebrating Eid at Yas Mall.
“We love the shopping promotions here because you have so much choice, and I want to treat my family,” he said.
British Muslim Stacey Al Darmaki, a mother of three who lives in Abu Dhabi, said she was unlikely to do any overnight shopping this Eid. “I’d be more likely to go if it was on the last day of Eid, after I’ve paid my respects to family and friends,” she said.
“There have been so many sales in the UAE over the past few months that I’ve already been able to buy my four-year-old son’s summer clothes, and I’ll be shopping for clothes for my other children when I visit the UK later this summer. The prices are much cheaper there.”
Kelly Lundberg, a Dubai-based personal shopper and stylist, said her clients tend to enjoy shopping during the day, especially in Ramadan when “the malls are quiet”. She said visiting a mall in the middle of the night did not appeal.
“I tend to conduct most of my shopping with clients in the morning,” she said.
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