At the stroke of midnight, Dubai joined an exclusive club of world cities whose landmarks are iconic in bringing in the New Year. Positioning Dubai in the league of Paris and New York for New Year’s Eve celebrations, the Burj Khalifa gala was a unique triumph for the city, trumpeting its journey into new beginnings, after passing through two challenging years.
As the clock ticked towards the first seconds of 2011, thousands of New Year revellers celebrated as the world's tallest building turned into a virtual column of colour and dazzle with a spectacular fireworks display.
The Burj Khalifa turns one year old on Tuesday. Already, though, with last night's celebrations, the 828-metre spire brashly and brightly announced its advent as the place to be in the Middle East for bringing in the New Year and banishing the old.
During the evening, specially set up LED screens relayed New Year celebrations from other parts of the world, and The Dubai Fountain performed its roster of musical performances, this time, with fire elements adding to the spectacle.
A pre-show laser show flagged off the New Year’s Eve gala. The four-minute display enveloped Downtown Dubai in a surreal ambience with lights and fog effects. The Dubai Fountain took over with a sizzling fire and water performance set to the tone of Arabic music celebrating the Emirati culture and heritage.
With less than one minute to go, Burj Khalifa, ‘the hero’ of the show, stepped in with a brilliantly choreographed light show, the luminescence creating a ‘heart beat’ effect as lights raced up and down the 828 metres of the tower.
A ten second countdown followed. Silence enveloped the mass of people. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 4, 3, 2, 1…
Dubai Media also showed it live on online at http://www.dmi.ae/newyear/
And at the tick of 0, and the arrival of 2011, Burj Khalifa went live in an unprecedented display of fireworks.
For visitors, the nearly four-minute show was an unparalleled experience — four minutes that were just frozen in time, four minutes of sheer spectacle…
The Dubai Fountain took over the show for the next one hour with continuous performances, as thousands of spectators greeted the New Year, their mobile phones buzzing, laughter punctuating the cool winter air and a hundred voices chanting in unison “Happy New Year.’
The buzz echoed in other emirates as well, as crowds thronged the Abu Dhabi Corniche for a spectacle of fireworks on the backdrop of the magnificently lit Emirates Palace. Soaked in lights and splendour, Al Qasba took the centre-stage of celebrations in Sharjah, with the culturally-inclined folks enjoying the eye-catching fireworks and light sequences on offer.
In Dubai, though, the weather was a pleasant 15°C, warmed even further by wellwishers who dined and watched the entertainment around the Burj Khalifa. It's going to take a long time for Dubai's spire and spirits to be topped.
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