Dates and venues checked against the organisers’ own pages on .
On Diwali, Sunday, 8 November 2026, the sun sets at 5:34 pm (GMT+4) in Dubai. Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening after sunset, in the pradosh period — roughly the first two and a half hours after it; the lamps are lit as it gets dark. Sunset in other cities in the UAE
2 Diwali events are listed in and around Dubai for 2026, from 7 to 8 November. The biggest night of the Indian year: lamps, sweets, new clothes and fireworks. Abroad it is celebrated over the surrounding weekends, with one large public event in most big cities.
The biggest Diwali celebrations in Dubai
Diwali in Dubai — Festival of Lights
When
Monday 2 to Thursday 12 November 2026
Where
Citywide, Dubai
Dubai’s official Diwali season on the city’s events calendar: traditional cultural events and fireworks displays across the city, shopping deals on Diwali buys and prize draws, with Noor: Festival of Lights at Souk Al Seef as its anchor festival.
Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November 2026; registration is free and open on the festival’s site, and the programme is posted there
Where
Souk Al Seef, on Dubai Creek, Bur Dubai
Entry
Free, with online registration
The third edition of the festival that anchors Dubai’s Diwali, produced by Teamwork Arts with Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment: two days of processions, storytelling, dance, live music, conversations, stand-up comedy, rangoli and drumming workshops, and a choreographed fireworks display. In 2025 the fireworks went up by the Creek at 9.05pm on the opening night.
The 2026 dates are not yet announced; the park opens its thirty-first season on 14 October, and in 2025 its Diwali ran from 17 to 23 October, with fireworks at 9pm on 18–19 October and again on 24–25 October
Where
Global Village, Dubai
The park of world pavilions keeps Diwali around its India Pavilion: a Diwali mela with rangoli, performances on the Main Stage, stalls of décor, clothes and jewellery, and fireworks over the park. Entry is with a Global Village ticket.
Most mandirs hold Lakshmi Puja on Diwali evening and many hold Annakut the day after; gurdwaras keep Bandi Chhor Divas the same night. Each temple sets its own times, so check its page before you go.
Dubai’s Festival of Lights runs citywide from 2 to 12 November 2026, and its centre is Noor: Festival of Lights at Souk Al Seef on the Creek (7–8 November), with processions, music and fireworks. Global Village, open from 14 October, keeps Diwali at its India Pavilion; the Deira Gold Souk and Bur Dubai’s Meena Bazaar fill for Dhanteras on Friday 6 November; and on Diwali itself, Sunday 8 November, the crowds are at the Hindu Temple in Jebel Ali and Shreenathji Haveli in Bur Dubai.
📬 New Indian events near Dubai, by email
Once a week, and only when something new is on within 10 km of where you live — garba nights, Diwali melas, meetups, concerts. Free, and one click switches it off.
Diwali in Dubai is better with people near you
The Namaste Community app finds what is on around you in Dubai and everywhere else — free.
👥Groups near youJoin the Indian community groups in your city — chat, plans and people who get it.
📅Events near youEvery Diwali mela, festival and meetup, ranked by distance, with RSVP and reminders.
🛍️Buy and sellSarees, kurtas, furniture, kitchen things — from people a few streets away.
🏠Rent near youRooms and flats from the community, with the person behind the listing one tap away.
The biggest night of the Indian year: lamps, sweets, new clothes and fireworks. Abroad it is celebrated over the surrounding weekends, with one large public event in most big cities.
If it is your first one
Book restaurant tables two weeks ahead — the Diwali weekend fills every Indian restaurant in town.
Check local fireworks rules before buying any; most European towns restrict them to New Year.
Sweets (mithai) can be ordered from Indian grocers a week ahead; many deliver nationwide.
The big city events sell tickets in advance and sell out; children under a certain age are usually free.
Previous Diwali events in Dubai
Most of these return every year with the same organisers.
Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. In Dubai the biggest public celebration is Dubai’s citywide Festival of Lights, 2–12 November.
What time does the sun set in Dubai on Diwali 2026?
On Sunday, 8 November 2026, the sun sets at 5:34 pm (GMT+4) in Dubai. That is for the city centre with a flat horizon, as every published table gives it; behind buildings or hills it appears a few minutes later. Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening after sunset, in the pradosh period — roughly the first two and a half hours after it; the lamps are lit as it gets dark.
Where is Diwali in Dubai — Festival of Lights?
Citywide, Dubai. Monday 2 to Thursday 12 November 2026.
Where can I go to a temple for Diwali in Dubai?
1 temple or gurdwara is listed within 20 km of Dubai, among them Srinathji Temple. Most mandirs hold Lakshmi Puja on Diwali evening and many hold Annakut the day after; gurdwaras keep Bandi Chhor Divas the same night. Each temple sets its own times, so check its page before you go.
What Diwali events are there in Dubai?
2 Diwali events are listed on this page so far: Dhanguard Diwali x Ramleela 2.0; Diwali Special: This IS Impro SUN 8 NOV 2026.
Post it from the app under Events, wherever you are. It is free, a moderator checks it, and it appears here and to every member nearby. Running several a year? Email [email protected] for a listing invite.
