Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that in view of large numbers that are expected to attend Global Encounters Festival, Dubai Metro will run until 1 am on Sunday, July 20 contrary to their normal closing time of midnight.
The trend is part of a bid to make commuting easier and convenient to thousands of people who are expected to attend the opening night of the weeklong event at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) as part of the cultural event.
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Why the Extended Hours?
It is the Global Encounters Festival 2025, a significant world event organised by the Ismaili Muslim community and is taking place between July 20 and July 27 in the Sheikh Saeed and Sheikh Rashid Halls in the DWTC.
The event will feature live music, cultural displays and demonstrations, arts exhibition, and sporting competitions to both the youth and the adults, and attract worldwide members to the event under the pillar of community, creativity and service.
To support the estimated increased use of the metro with the crowd coming to the festival to decongest the roads leading to the festival and inadequate available parking space in and around central Dubai, the RTA has been urging the audience to utilize the public means of transport during the festival.
Key Travel Update:
- Date: Sunday, July 20, 2025
- New Metro Closing Time: 1:00 AM (instead of midnight)
- Applicable to: All Dubai Metro lines
- Reason: Mitigate travelling of attendees of the Global Encounters Festival at DWTC
What Commuters Should Know
RTA has also urged commuters to make their journey these days so that they cannot drive to the Stadium since it would be highly congested and the parking will be limited. The new statement has been released through official social media pages of RTA and falls within the city strategy of ensuring continuity of movement in case of major events. It is a short-time extension and would last only a single night metro timings. Normal metro operations will start on Monday, July 21.
What Is the Global Encounters Festival?
The Global Encounters Festival is a festival of cultural, artistic and athletic excellence among people of the Ismaili Muslim community that gathers representatives of many countries of the world. The festival will run from musical performances and artistic exhibitions to valuable discussions and competitive sports tournaments, thus being one of the largest culture events of the year in the UAE.
Future of Dubai Metro
This is only a temporary transformation since RTA is still continuing with the expansion of its metro network with such a project as the Dubai Metro Blue Line being developed. When this new line is constructed, it will be able to link additional residential properties and reduce the strain on established tracks, which will only enhance access to public transport within the city.
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FAQs
Q1: Is this metro extension permanent?
No. It is a single day shift for Sunday, July 20 only.
Q2: Do I need to check if the timing applies to my metro line?
No. These longer hours are applicable to the entire lines at the Dubai Metro.
Q3: What are the Global Encounters Festival venues?
The venue of the festival is Dubai World Trade Centre at the Sheikh Saeed and Sheikh Rashid Halls.