Sole DXB 2026 at The Square, Nad Al Sheba: getting there and getting home
Sole DXB 2026 runs 11–13 Dec at its new venue, The Square in Nad Al Sheba. How to get there, what's confirmed so far, and how to get home late at night.
Chauffeur operations specialist, Dubai · Updated · 6 min read
Sole DXB 2026 runs from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December at a new venue, The Square in Nad Al Sheba, after years at Dubai Design District (d3). There’s no metro to the site, so plan on a car, taxi or chauffeur, and book the ride home before you go. That’s the part that goes wrong at 1am.
Sole DXB is music, sneakers, streetwear, art, sport and food over one weekend, and the crowd skews young; d3 billed it as the region’s youth and contemporary culture festival. Expect friend groups, creatives and parents dropping off teenagers. We run event limousine and chauffeur transport for festival nights across Dubai, and this guide covers what’s confirmed about the new venue and how to get in and out without a long wait on the kerb.
Sole DXB 2026: dates and the move from d3
The Sole DXB website lists the 2026 festival as 11 to 13 December at The Square Nad Al Sheba. It’s the festival’s first year away from d3. The line-up, ticket prices and daily opening hours hadn’t been published when we wrote this; the tickets section still read “coming soon”.
| Edition | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 13–15 December 2024 | Dubai Design District (d3) |
| 2025 | 12–14 December 2025 | Dubai Design District (d3) |
| 2026 | 11–13 December 2026 | The Square, Nad Al Sheba |
| 2027 | Not announced yet; usually mid-December | Not announced |
| 2028 | Not announced yet; usually mid-December | Not announced |
For reference, Gulf News reported 2025 tickets starting at AED 599. Expect 2026 prices once the line-up drops.
Where is The Square in Nad Al Sheba?
The Square is an open-air food and community destination in Nad Al Sheba run by Shamal. On 6 October 2026, Shamal announced a permanent new home for The Square in Nad Al Sheba, off Al Ain Road with direct access from the Dubai–Al Ain Road. Its release describes:
- Size: 350,000 sq ft, more than double the old site, with a 24,000 sq m events arena.
- Parking: more than 3,000 spaces.
- Opening: to the public from 23 November 2026, less than three weeks before Sole DXB.
Sole DXB hasn’t published a site map, gate details or an address beyond “The Square Nad Al Sheba” yet. We’ll confirm the exact entrance and drop-off point once it does, and update this guide.
What we can say now: the festival’s own safety guide tells visitors travelling by car to plan their route and drop-off times because the area can get busy. A festival weekend at a venue that’s new to most drivers usually means a slow exit, especially on the Saturday night.
How do you get to Sole DXB?
| Option | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chauffeur or van with driver | Drop at the entrance, pickup at an agreed point and time | Friend groups, parents booking for teenagers, late leavers | Book the return time when you book the car |
| Taxi or ride-hailing | Drop at the venue | Getting there | Long waits and higher app prices when the night ends |
| Self-drive | The Square’s car parks | Day sessions | Exit queues; no drinking and driving |
| Public transport | No metro or festival shuttle announced | Check Sole DXB’s updates before the weekend |
Getting there is easy at almost any hour. Getting home is the question. When the main stage finishes, thousands of people open the same two apps at the same time, from a venue the drivers don’t know well yet.
Getting home after the last set
This is the part to plan, and it’s why we suggest return bookings for festivals rather than one-way drops.
- Book the return when you book the drop. Tell us roughly when you’ll leave. We’d rather adjust by 30 minutes than send a car at random.
- Agree a pickup point a short walk from the gate. The main gate at closing is the worst place to meet a car. We fix the point when we drop you, and your chauffeur parks there.
- Share live location with the chauffeur. Phone networks slow down in big crowds. A shared location and one message (“leaving now”) is enough.
- Charge your phone. Obvious, and the most common reason pickups go wrong.
For parents: if you’re booking for teenagers, you get the chauffeur’s details and the pickup time, and your group gets a fixed meeting point instead of a ride-hailing scramble at midnight. We don’t add night surcharges or surge pricing, so a 1am pickup costs the same as an evening one.
Friend groups, crews and brand teams
Sole DXB is a group outing. Six friends in two taxis means two waits and two fares; one larger car is simpler.
| Group | What we send | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Business sedan | Drop and timed pickup |
| 4 to 6 | Mercedes V-Class or a luxury SUV with chauffeur | Everyone leaves together |
| 7 to 8 | Toyota HiAce VIP from our vans with driver | One vehicle for a larger crew |
| 13 or more | Minibus with driver | Dance crews, sports teams, brand staff |
Brands activating at the festival often need staff moved in at the start of each day and out after close. We arrange minibuses and coaches with drivers for that, on a fixed daily loop between hotel and venue.
The same weekend in Dubai
Sole DXB’s Friday overlaps with the last day of GITEX Global at Dubai Exhibition Centre (7–11 December), and the whole weekend sits inside the Dubai Shopping Festival, which runs from 4 December 2026 to 17 January 2027. Evening traffic across the city is heavier than a normal December weekend. Our Dubai Shopping Festival transport guide covers the drone shows and mall crowds, and our Dubai events calendar lists everything else on that weekend.
Frequently asked questions
When is Sole DXB 2026?
Sole DXB 2026 runs from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December 2026, according to the festival’s official website. It’s the festival’s first edition at The Square in Nad Al Sheba. The 2025 edition ran from 12 to 14 December 2025 at Dubai Design District (d3).
Where is Sole DXB 2026 held?
At The Square, Nad Al Sheba. The Square’s operator, Shamal, announced in October 2026 that the venue is moving to a larger permanent site off Al Ain Road, with more than 3,000 parking spaces, opening on 23 November 2026. Sole DXB hasn’t yet published gate details.
Is Sole DXB free?
No. Sole DXB is a ticketed festival. For 2025, Gulf News reported tickets starting at AED 599. Ticket prices for 2026 hadn’t been released when we wrote this; the official site listed tickets as coming soon. The Square itself is free to visit on normal days.
How do I get to Sole DXB?
By car, taxi, ride-hailing or chauffeur. No metro station serves The Square in Nad Al Sheba, and the festival hasn’t announced a shuttle. Book your ride home in advance or agree a pickup point away from the main gate, because exits at the end of the night are the slowest part.
Written by
Arshad HussainArshad Hussain has run chauffeur and limousine operations in Dubai since 2014: dispatch, fleet allocation, airport pickups and event transport.
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