Event witnessed record breaking ticket-sales with 2 international headline artists on stage.
Dubai: The Middle East’s biggest sports and entertainment festival, the Emirates Dubai 7s, came to an unforgettable finale on Sunday 1st December 2024 with a win from Fiji Men and Australia Women in the first leg of the HSBC SVNS 2025 Series, followed by a headliner set from Brit-award winning artist, Stormzy.
Fiji beat Spain 19-5 to lift the men’s trophy and claim their first SVNS tournament victory since 2022, and their first in Dubai since 2016. Argentina claimed the men’s bronze medals with a convincing 14-0 win over New Zealand.
Australia secured an incredible fifth successive women’s tournament victory in Dubai but they had to work hard for it in an epic final against Olympic champions New Zealand which finished 28-24. France overcame Great Britain 15-12 to take home the women’s bronze medals.
Three-days of non-stop entertainment ended on a high-note with British star Stormzy returning to Dubai especially to close out Emirates Dubai 7s 2024 on its Frequency on 8 stage. The much-awaited set from Stormzy saw him perform all his hits including ‘Backbone’, ‘Own It’ and ‘Crown’ to a crowd of over 25,000 people.
The weekend also featured a full 3-day line-up of artists and DJs of all genres performing across the event’s 3 stages. Saturday night’s headliners Sugababes brought in a huge crowd to the Rugby Rocks stage, and Artful Dodger and Nathan Dawe wowed fans at the popular Beats on 2 DJ deck, with epic sunset sets overlooking the venue’s rugby pitches.
Alongside the HSBC SVNS action, the festival attracted teams from all around the world to compete in invitational rugby, netball, cricket, padel tennis and fitness tournaments. This year saw the event’s biggest number of teams yet competing for the sought-after Dubai 7s trophies.
The Emirates Dubai 7s’ dedicated cricket zone was headed-up by an impressive line-up of cricket ambassadors including Indian international Dinesh Karthik and English players Tom Hartley and Georgia Elwis, whilst global cricket supporter groups Bharat Army and Barmy Army flew to Dubai to compete in the event’s Open Competitive cricket tournament.
This year saw the ultimate Emirates Dubai 7s ‘Family Friday’ with a bigger than ever Kids’ Zone full of entertainment for all kids of all ages starts including sports and DJ masterclasses, a huge soft play, skill-games for teens, live entertainment and even an outdoor cinema in the evening.
Mathew Tait, Festival Director of Emirates Dubai 7s said: “This weekend has been our biggest Dubai 7s to date. The double-header music schedule, combined with our expansive F&B offering, thrilling international rugby and entertainment to suit all ages reinforces our reputation as the best weekend of the year for UAE residents of all ages.”
