With gender reveal parties gaining popularity around the world, some UAE residents are spending up to Dh500,000 on such parties, according to event planners in the country. From drone shows in the sky and light displays on Burj Khalifa to smoke waterfalls, and colour streamers, people in the UAE are going all out to celebrate the event.
“We feel there has been a large shift towards gender reveals becoming more and more popular not just in the UAE but globally,” said Gauri Chadha, creative director of the Big Night Events (BNE).
“We have seen people spending up to Dh500,000 on a gender reveal party. The cost would depend on the creative vision of the party and the number of people attending the event but generally it tends to be above Dh250,000. However, we have had people coming up to us with a smaller budget, and we do our best to give them what is feasible in that budget,” she added.
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Last week, Dubai-based influencers Nora and Khalid Alherani hosted a gender reveal party with a drone show, believed to be one of the first in the region. In 2020, Syrian influencers Anas and Asala Marwah had conducted their gender reveal as a light display on the Burj Khalifa.
Natasha Hatherall-Shawe, founder of digital marketing agency Tish Tash said social media is partly responsible for the increasing popularity of these parties. “People like to share everything online, in a very visual and creative way,” she said. “Even ’normal’ non influencers like to share all their moments on social media and this feeds in to that.”
Celebration of life
According to Natasha, the pandemic has also fed into the popularity of gender reveal parties. “I do feel that since Covid especially, we are all finding more ways to celebrate life,” she said. “It’s a good thing for us all to cherish the important moments in life more.”
Globally, some gender reveal parties have been widely criticised for being destructive and leading to the deaths of people. In 2021, a California couple’s gender reveal caused a wildfire that burnt down thousands of acres of land, destroyed five homes and killed a firefighter. However, this has not put a damper on such parties and on the contrary, seems to have made them more popular.
Natasha said that as gender reveal trends have become more viral, more brands are willing to collaborate with influencers for such parties and her agency has dealt with several such requests.
Natasha said that producing content for brands can be expensive, and gender reveals – a type of content attractive to brands – are no different. She said that this is one of the reasons why brands are eager to collaborate with influencers for gender reveal parties.
“We are definitely getting a lot more requests to support gender reveals, but to-date it has mainly been with venues, decoration or cakes, even hair and make-up or clothing for reveals,” she said.
Natasha emphasised that while it is easier to collaborate with brands for smaller elements, requests will change and become increasingly expensive as the industry grows larger. “It will then be a bigger consideration to clients,” she added.
Emotional moment
For many event planners, such parties involve an emotional connect. Kunal Rupani, Managing Director of BNE shared one such event that was close to his heart.
“Our clients landed from Paris that morning, went straight to the doctor and came to meet us and handed over an envelope revealing the gender of the child,” he said. “Only one member of our team knew the gender during the time that we were planning the reveal.”
The couple wanted to bring the breeze of France to Dubai and according to Kunal, the team went all out to recreate it.
“The grand moment was revealed with larger streamer blasts and coloured smoke sets against a balloon-filled backdrop,” he said. “The event was set in a lawn and we had customised cocktails with candy floss, smoke bubbles, a very special Vespa converted into a live floral bouquet experience and a live drawing experience.”
The costs of such parties can vary depending on the couple’s choice. Natasha said a lot of people still preferred to have very simple gender reveal parties. “I think it is important to mention to anyone planning their own gender reveal that it can be done very simply and affordably,” she said. “They don’t have to cost a lot. Make a cake and buy some balloons and the job is done.”
Despite controversies and varying opinions about gender reveals, the trend seems to be here to stay. “I think they are likely to become a more mainstream part of life,” said Natasha. “We’re seeing this already with the availability of gender reveal decorations in stores and online. There is clearly a demand that will continue to grow and become more commercial.”
Gauri agreed. “Be it a drone show, flying skydivers with smoke releases or beautiful balloon pops – gender reveals are here to stay and what better place to do them in than the UAE where your imagination can roam wild and the impossible can be made possible,” she said.