Dubai Mall (originally known as The Dubai Mall, until 2023) ( "Dubai Mall") is the largest shopping mall in Dubai. It is the second largest mall in the world by total land area after the Iran Mall, and the 26th-largest shopping mall in the world by gross leasable area, with a total retail floor area of 350000 m2. The mall is part of the 20-billion-dollar Downtown complex called Downtown Dubai that is adjacent to the Burj Khalifa, and includes over 1,200 shops. In 2011, it was the most visited building on the planet, and attracts over 54 million visitors each year. Twice delayed, Dubai Mall opened on 4 November 2008, with about 1000 retailers. In January 2023, the shopping mall announced that it was officially changing its name from "The Dubai Mall" to "Dubai Mall". Dubai Mall has received a record 105 million visitors in 2023, a jump of over 19 per cent on the previous year which was 88 million. In June 2024, real estate developer Emaar Properties announced a 1.5 billion dirham ($408 million) expansion of Dubai Mall.

Statistics

Dubai Mall recorded 61,000 tickets sold for the Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre in the first five days, following its opening. Dubai Mall hosted over 37 million visitors in 2009, and attracts more than 750,000 visitors every week. In 2010, it had 47 million visitors, and saw an increase in foot traffic by about 27 percent over 2009, despite the economic crisis (a consequence of a real estate bubble burst). In 2012, Dubai Mall continued to hold the title as the world's most-visited shopping and leisure destination, and attracted more than 65 million visitors, an increase of more than 20 percent compared to the 54 million recorded in 2011. It attracted more visitors than New York City which welcomed over 52 million visitors that year, and Los Angeles which had 41 million visitors. The number also surpasses visitor arrivals to all landmark leisure destinations and theme parks in the world including Times Square (39.2 million), Central Park (38 million), and Niagara Falls (22.5 million).

Description

At over 13 e6sqft (equivalent in size to more than 50 football pitches), Dubai Mall has a total internal floor area of 5.9 e6sqft and leasable space of 3.77 e6sqft, about the same as the West Edmonton Mall. It also has 22 cinema screens plus 120 restaurants and cafes. The mall has over 14,000 parking spaces across 3 car parks, with valet services and a car locator ticketing system. The mall has won five awards – two awards at the Retail Future Project Awards at Mapic, Cannes, in 2004, for Best Retail Development Scheme (Large) and Best Use of Lighting in a Retail Environment and the Dubai Mall brochure collected three awards at the Summit Creative Awards 2005 in Portland, Oregon – the Gold award for: Best Art Direction / Graphic Design, Silver award for Best 4-colour B2B Brochure, and a Judges Special Recognition award. The Mall also features an Olympic-sized ice rink for recreational skating and Emirates Ice Hockey League games, also the Emirates A380 Experience, an Airbus A380 aircraft simulator.

Attractions

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo

The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo by Emaar Entertainment, was designed by Peddle Thorp. The aquarium, located in The Dubai Mall, showcases more than 300 species of marine animals, including sharks and rays.It is mainly presenting bio-diversity in different ecological zones which includes Rainforest, Rocky Shore and Living Ocean. The aquarium was awarded the ‘Certificate of Excellence’ and won the ‘Images Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Leisure & Entertainment’ at Images RetailME Awards 2012.

Play DXB

Play DXB is an amusement park that was formerly known as VR Park Dubai. The 76,000 sqft indoor park is an indoor virtual reality attraction. It features 15 rides and amusement games, including motion simulators, classic carnival games, skill games, and redemption games. The park is based around VR and arcade games. There is an inflatable playground as well as trampolines, aimed at younger children. Older children can play VR games using a Quest 2 gaming headset. It is in the same place as where Sega Republic used to be. The theme park closed on 1 June 2017, after the license to the Sega theme expired. It later reopened in February 2018 as a theme park dedicated to virtual reality under the name of VR Park Dubai. In 2022, the park was renamed to Play DXB.

Reel Cinemas

Reel Cinemas is a 22-screen cinema that is managed by Emaar Entertainment. The megaplex holds four cinema suites and 17 commercial halls, including the first THX-certified cinema in Dubai.

Dubai Fountain

Dubai Fountain is located outside of the mall, near the Burj Khalifa. This is one the world’s largest choreographed fountain systems, featuring water shows synchronized with music and lights. The fountain has 25 color projectors and 1,000 water expressions. The fountain has five circles and when active 22,000 gallons of water are airborne. It includes 6,600 lights and water jets which activate in time with music.

Hysteria

Hysteria is a haunted house that is decorated with special effects, fog lights, and strobe lights. The story of Hysteria revolves around a family whose child mysteriously disappeared. They believe that the guest knows where their child is, so they attempt to kidnap the guest or guests.

Dubai Dino

Dubai Dino is an actual fossil of Diplodocus. The total measurement of the Dino is over 7 m in height, and 24 m in length.

Dubai Creek Tower Replica

The Dubai Mall's Grand Atrium is home to a replica of the Dubai Creek Tower, which is currently under construction. The model will give a 3D rendition of the completed tower's architecture.

KidZania

KidZania is an interactive children-sized edutainment theme park. Kidzania is a 7,000m² scaled replica of the Dubai that combines entertainment and education, with over 70 real-life activities for children aged 4–16. Children can learn about different jobs through role-play.

Construction

In October 2004, Emaar Properties awarded the construction contract for building The Mall to a joint venture of Dutco Balfour Beatty, Al Ghandi/CCC and Turner Construction. The mall, claiming to be the size of 50 "football pitches", was scheduled to be completed in 2006, but was delayed and finally opened in 2008. Most of the workers who constructed the mall were Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan guest workers.The architectural design of Dubai Mall was a collaborative effort involving international architects, engineers, and designers. The lead architect was DP Architects, a Singapore-based firm known for its work on large-scale commercial projects.

Metro Link

In December 2012, Emaar Properties announced the completion of the Metro Link, an 820 m elevated, air-conditioned footbridge that connects the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall Metro station to the mall.

Expansion

In June 2013, Dubai Mall commenced phase one of its expansion plan by increasing the total retail floor area by 1 e6sqft. so as to accommodate more visitors. The project was completed in 2018. In June 2024, Emaar Properties announced the building’s expansion plan, which will add 240 new stores and restaurant venues.

World records and achievements

Incidents

In popular culture

Dubai Mall was featured in the documentary show called Megastructures that aired on the National Geographic Channel. The mall was also featured in the BBC One programme, The Apprentice (UK series nine) and Week 5: Dubai Discount buying, where the candidates had to purchase items for the least amount of prices by utilising their negotiation skills.

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