Burj Dubai ceremony details revealed

The inauguration of Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, developed by Emaar Properties, will feature a spectacular display of sound, light, water and fireworks, organisers announced on Sunday.

A combination of 10,000 fireworks, light beams, choreographed water displays, and sound & music effects on Monday will describe the evolution of the world’s most iconic new building.

In all, 868 high-powered ‘stroboscope’ lights will be integrated into the facade of Burj Dubai and the tower’s spire – and each stroboscope will be fired individually to create a series of hypnotic lighting sequences, organisers said in a statement.

The entire display will be controlled by a sophisticated arrangement of ultra high-tech IT systems, which choreograph at least 50 different sequences of lighting, fireworks, water and sound effects.

Event experts from France, Britain and the United States collaborated on the project, organisers added.

Powerful strobe lights will be fixed near the pinnacle of the tower, and six ‘narrow beam’ search lights will be positioned 700 metres up the tower.

The entire inauguration show consists of a pre-show and three themed acts – From the Desert Flower to Burj Dubai, Heart Beat, and From Dubai & the UAE to the World - and a firework finale.

A giant screen on Burj Park Island, as well as several television screens placed across Downtown Burj Dubai including the Waterfront Promenade, will broadcast the inauguration in real-time.

Hundreds of international media, including Dubai TV, will report live from the scene while the public can watch at the inauguration ceremony from the Waterfront Promenade adjacent to The Dubai Mall.

The inauguration performance begins with a short film which depicts the story of Dubai and the evolution of Burj Dubai as the world’s tallest building.

A precisely choreographed sound, light, water and fireworks display will then follow.

The first act in the light & sound show, themed From the Desert Flower to Burj Dubai, is a co-ordinated water, light and firework display. Guests can watch the unfolding of the desert lily, Hymenocallis, the design inspiration of Burj Dubai. The segment ends with a rhythmic water and fireworks show.

The second act, called Heart Beat, captures the construction of the tower in a dynamic light show. An astonishing example of technological innovation, the display recreates the effect of a beating heart and uses no fewer than 300 space canon projectors to generate a shadow-like image of the tower.

In the third act, called From Dubai and the UAE to the World, sky tracers and space canons envelop the tower in a strong halo of white light before reproducing the sun beams of the Emaar corporate logo. These then expand in all directions as the lighting rig on the tower’s spire activates.

The finale will feature 10,000 firework effects on and from the tower, Ahmad Al Matrooshi, managing director, UAE, Emaar Properties, said.

“Just as Burj Dubai leaves an indelible impression on the mind’s eye, so the performance dedicated to the tower’s inauguration on January 4 will be a memory to cherish,” he added.

Standing at more than 800 metres (2,625 ft) high and with more than 160 storeys, Burj Dubai is the world’s tallest building developed by Emaar Properties.

The tower anchors the 500-acre Downtown Burj Dubai community.