Yas Island’s ‘Winterland Festival’ sees record number of visitors

More than 26,000 people visited the snow-themed Winterland Carnival at du Forum during a five-day period in December, while 40,000 attended Coldplay’s New Year’s Eve concert at du Arena.

Children at the artificial snow park on December 31 at the Winterland Carnival at du Forum on Yas Island. Jeffrey E Biteng /The National

ABU DHABI // A record number of guests visited Yas Island during this festive season, the island’s developer said.

This season’s increase in visitors to the capital’s island, resulted from a month-long ‘Winterland Festival’, which included events such as Ferrari World’s ‘Winterfest’ and Yas Mall’s festive programme featuring food trucks, games, rides and performances.

A snow-themed ‘Winterland Carnival’ at the du Forum alone saw more than 26,000 visitors during a 5-day period at the end of December, with Coldplay’s New Year’s Eve selling out the 40,000 capacity du Arena.

“Each year, we strive to raise the Yas Island experience to unprecedented new heights, as we work with our partners to deliver an array of memorable events, activities and entertainment designed to exhilarate visitors,” said Mohammad Al Zaabi, chief executive of Miral Asset Management, the Abu Dhabi-government-backed company mandated to promote and develop Yas Island.

The island-wide festival began on December 9 and is set to run until January 7.