Just days before the grand opening of the $1.5bn hotel on the iconic Palm Jumeirah, large black plumes of fire were seen coming from the Atlantis as the lobby was engulfed in flames. Crisis management later kicked in and the hotel opened on time. What was branded at the time as the world’s biggest party and a set of extravagant fireworks helped ensure that the incident was soon forgotten. Weeks later, however, more PR spin was needed when it emerged the hotel was home to Sammy the whale shark, unleasing a backlash from animal rights groups. After years of avoiding questions, Sammy was soon released back to the wild.