Dubai: From the Burj Khalifa to Ferrari World, five of the latest record-breaking achievements to have made it into the Guinness World Records 2014 came from the UAE.
The Guinness World Records, the global authority on record-breaking achievements, confirmed the Burj Khalifa as the ‘tallest man-made structure on land ever’ which stands at a record-breaking 828 metres and the ‘highest restaurant’, At.mosphere, which is situated on Level 122 at a height of 441.3 metres from the ground.
Dubai was also recognised as home to the ‘largest shopping centre’ with Dubai Mall which covers a total area of 1,124,000 square metres and the ‘longest driverless metro’ with two lines totalling 74.694km operating entirely without drivers.
The ‘fastest roller coaster made from steel’ is also based in the UAE at Ferrari World where it moves at speeds of 239.9 km/h at a 52 metre incline in less than 4.9 seconds. Another UAE record-breaking achievement is the ‘most environmentally-friendly city’ which has been awarded to Masdar City in Abu Dhabi and is the world’s first city designed to be zero-carbon and zero-waste.
The entire city’s power is generated from renewable resources and all waste material is recycled. Cars are banned in favour of electric, driverless, underground vehicles, meaning that the city’s projected 50,000 citizens should leave no carbon footprint.
Over all, the UAE is featured more than 100 times in the new Guinness World Records as record applications from the UAE have grown 130 per cent and the number of world record holders has grown 171 per cent in the past five years.
Last year’s edition
Other record-breaking achievements from the UAE that were featured in the latest edition include the world’s ‘tallest hotel,’ the J W Marriott Marquis Dubai, which has a height of 355.35 metres.
The UAE was also recognised to have the ‘largest automated parking facility’ at Emirates Financial Towers which can store 1,191 cars, and has a peak capacity of 360 cars per hour. The parking lot occupies a net internal area of 27,606.14 square metres.
Skydive Dubai was also a part of another record-breaking achievement on February 10, 2013 when they accomplished the ‘most people to parachute simultaneously from a balloon’ with 25 people participating in the activity.
Dubai International Airport is also said to have the ‘largest indoor billboard’ created by Nissan, which measures 174 square metres.
In February 2013, Guinness World Records opened its first office in the Middle East in Dubai’s Media City, headed by Talal Omar.
