Up to 9 months prep: What it takes to light up Dubai’s biggest Christmas trees
Every December, magnificent towering Christmas trees rise across Dubai’s malls, hotels and entertainment destinations. Adorned with thousands of lights, trinkets, and ornaments, they become popular gathering spots for families and picture-perfect backdrops in a city to more than 200 nationalities.But while the finished displays may seem effortless, months of planning and preparation take place behind the scenes — with some venues starting work as early as nine months in advance.This year, Global Village installed two festive trees, each standing 21 metres tall — about the height of a seven-storey building. Dubai Festival City (DFC), meanwhile, unveiled a 15-metre tree built around a reinforced metal frame and decorated with 3,000 metres of warm LED lights, more than 3,200 decorative balls, illuminated snowflakes, deer figures and a 1.5-metre topper star.Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.At Global Village, a spokesperson said that a huge team worked on designing the trees. “A dedicated multidisciplinary team of more than 75 members worked to deliver the two spectacular trees,” he said. “It involved designers, installation technicians, electricians, operations teams, and safety specialists.”Some destinations took a more creative approach. Dubai hotel The Lana partnered with Spanish designer Manolo Blahnik to create a fashion-inspired tree, with preparations beginning around nine months in advance. “This timeline allowed for in-depth creative development, partner collaboration, bespoke design and production, as well as detailed technical and logistical planning,” it said. The hotel’s five-metre installation features custom-made baubles illustrated with the designer’s iconic shoes, wrapped in a signature pink ribbon.At the Accor Dubai Deira and Dubai Gold District Cluster, a 4.5-metre tree was styled in warm golden tones to match the district’s heritage setting, complete with a tree lighting ceremony. “We hosted a grand Christmas tree lighting event featuring a festive parade with live bands and Santa Claus across the Dubai Deira Enrichment Project area,” said Mohamad Ali Shaikh, Cluster Operations Manager at the group. “We also had a festive market, live carol performances, and a gala dinner.”Assembly challengesAccording to Global Village, the process, from initial assembly to final decorative touches, took roughly 4 weeks. “Managing scale was the primary challenge, from transporting large structural components to coordinating work at height, while ensuring minimal impact on park operations and maintaining the highest safety standards,” said a spokesperson. “Meanwhile, getting the tree set up at DFC required about three weeks, including site visits and arranging power connections. It involved several logistical challenges that required careful planning.“Transporting the large sections and ensuring enough space for access platforms to manoeuvre during assembly is critical,” said the destination. “Weather conditions can affect the lifting of these sections, and much of the work takes place during night shifts, which require special permits from the authorities.”They added that every section of the tree is thoroughly inspected for defects in the structure or lighting, and ornaments are checked to ensure they meet the requirements.The site is also prepared with levelled platforms where needed, and coordination is done to ensure proper power supply and placement of power sources.At the Accor group, the installation process, which involved a dedicated team of six people, took around four days, and the biggest challenge was transporting and positioning the tree safely within the venue.Meanwhile, at The Lana, the assembly was carried out overnight to ensure guests woke up to a festive surprise — a fact that was a challenge in itself. “One of the main logistical challenges is executing a large-scale installation within a live luxury hotel environment, where there is constant guest movement and activity,” said a hotel spokesperson. Dismantling and storageOnce the festivities are over, the dismantling process takes anywhere between three hours and two days. All the destinations unanimously agreed that the decorations and, in some instances, the tree were carefully removed and stored for future use.“The tree is carefully dismantled and stored securely, ready to be reused and refreshed for the following year’s celebrations,” said Mohamad.Lana said that the decorations and bespoke elements are safely packed away. “Wherever possible, elements are stored, reused or repurposed for future installations, in line with responsible production and sustainability considerations,” a representative said. Christmas in UAE: Giant fir trees from Canada, Denmark arrive in DubaiDaiso Japan unveils largest Christmas collection across its 51 stores in UAE
Every December, magnificent towering Christmas trees rise across Dubai’s malls, hotels and entertainment destinations. Adorned with thousands of lights, trinkets, and ornaments, they become popular gathering spots for families and picture-perfect backdrops in a city to more than 200 nationalities.
But while the finished displays may seem effortless, months of planning and preparation take place behind the scenes — with some venues starting work as early as nine months in advance.
This year, Global Village installed two festive trees, each standing 21 metres tall — about the height of a seven-storey building. Dubai Festival City (DFC), meanwhile, unveiled a 15-metre tree built around a reinforced metal frame and decorated with 3,000 metres of warm LED lights, more than 3,200 decorative balls, illuminated snowflakes, deer figures and a 1.5-metre topper star.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
At Global Village, a spokesperson said that a huge team worked on designing the trees. “A dedicated multidisciplinary team of more than 75 members worked to deliver the two spectacular trees,” he said. “It involved designers, installation technicians, electricians, operations teams, and safety specialists.”
Some destinations took a more creative approach. Dubai hotel The Lana partnered with Spanish designer Manolo Blahnik to create a fashion-inspired tree, with preparations beginning around nine months in advance. “This timeline allowed for in-depth creative development, partner collaboration, bespoke design and production, as well as detailed technical and logistical planning,” it said. The hotel’s five-metre installation features custom-made baubles illustrated with the designer’s iconic shoes, wrapped in a signature pink ribbon.
At the Accor Dubai Deira and Dubai Gold District Cluster, a 4.5-metre tree was styled in warm golden tones to match the district’s heritage setting, complete with a tree lighting ceremony. “We hosted a grand Christmas tree lighting event featuring a festive parade with live bands and Santa Claus across the Dubai Deira Enrichment Project area,” said Mohamad Ali Shaikh, Cluster Operations Manager at the group. “We also had a festive market, live carol performances, and a gala dinner.”
Assembly challenges
According to Global Village, the process, from initial assembly to final decorative touches, took roughly 4 weeks. “Managing scale was the primary challenge, from transporting large structural components to coordinating work at height, while ensuring minimal impact on park operations and maintaining the highest safety standards,” said a spokesperson. “
Meanwhile, getting the tree set up at DFC required about three weeks, including site visits and arranging power connections. It involved several logistical challenges that required careful planning.
“Transporting the large sections and ensuring enough space for access platforms to manoeuvre during assembly is critical,” said the destination. “Weather conditions can affect the lifting of these sections, and much of the work takes place during night shifts, which require special permits from the authorities.”
They added that every section of the tree is thoroughly inspected for defects in the structure or lighting, and ornaments are checked to ensure they meet the requirements.
The site is also prepared with levelled platforms where needed, and coordination is done to ensure proper power supply and placement of power sources.
At the Accor group, the installation process, which involved a dedicated team of six people, took around four days, and the biggest challenge was transporting and positioning the tree safely within the venue.
Meanwhile, at The Lana, the assembly was carried out overnight to ensure guests woke up to a festive surprise — a fact that was a challenge in itself. “One of the main logistical challenges is executing a large-scale installation within a live luxury hotel environment, where there is constant guest movement and activity,” said a hotel spokesperson.
Dismantling and storage
Once the festivities are over, the dismantling process takes anywhere between three hours and two days. All the destinations unanimously agreed that the decorations and, in some instances, the tree were carefully removed and stored for future use.
“The tree is carefully dismantled and stored securely, ready to be reused and refreshed for the following year’s celebrations,” said Mohamad.
Lana said that the decorations and bespoke elements are safely packed away. “Wherever possible, elements are stored, reused or repurposed for future installations, in line with responsible production and sustainability considerations,” a representative said.
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