Dubai’s Burj Khalifa starts new decade with record-breaking New Year’s Eve show

Emaar, the master developer of the Burj Khalifa, attracted an audience of over 2 billion people from across the globe with its New Year’s Eve show on the world’s tallest building, which was transformed through animation, light, sounds and a synchronised fountain show.

Following the traditional 10 second digital countdown on the lit façade of Burj Khalifa, the clock struck midnight, kickstarting a flurry of fireworks and colour for a record-breaking 8 minute and 43 second-long show.

One million in attendance

The show was the longest set of consecutive fireworks in the history of the Burj Khalifa NYE shows, timed at over five minutes. The show featured a total of 1,371 kg of fireworks, which were placed across a colossal 207 firing locations.

The highly anticipated event welcomed over one million onlookers in Downtown Dubai, Emaar’s flagship mega-development, to witness 15,000 choreographed fireworks showcasing 48 pyrotechnic patterns, signalling the start of a new decade. 

All pyrotechnic effects were specially selected and manufactured for the show, ensuring the unique fireworks designs and effects were truly one-of-a-kind.

Fountain show

Celebrations also included the longest ever The Dubai Fountain Show since the fountains launched in 2009. The world-famous show took 160 hours across four weeks to choreograph and featured 113.5 kilolitres of water in the air at one time, released from 1,137 water shooters, and 6,612 lights.

Select aspects of the show referenced regional culture, art and music. Before the clock struck twelve, animations on the Burj Khalifa transformed the tower into the traditional Oud instrument and strummed to the beat of an arabesque melody. Flags from GCC countries were also shown on the façade of the iconic monument to celebrate the strong bond between these nations.

Burj wishes

Following unprecedented demand, Emaar, granted people from all over the world, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have their New Year wish displayed on the LED façade of Burj Khalifa during the Emaar NYE 2020 celebration.

The show’s ‘Burj Wishes’ social media campaigns reached tens of thousands of users, with those participating, posting their wish to the world on Emaar’s Twitter, Facebook or Instagram accounts @EmaarDubai using the hashtag #EmaarNYE2020.