Dubai: Dubai’s New Year’s Eve spectacular fireworks display was so overwhelming that revellers said they found it hard to decide which way to look.
“Two words — superbly amazing,” Dubai resident Venus, who watched the Palm Jumeirah fireworks from Jumeirah beach, told Gulf News. “The canopy of the fireworks was so vast it was challenging to take the entire view in because there was just too much to see from left to right.”
The Palm Jumeirah fireworks, which covered 94 kilometres of the city’s seafront, broke the world record for the largest fireworks display on Wednesday. The six-minute display lit more than 500,000 computer-controlled fireworks across Dubai’s iconic landmarks including the Palm Jumeirah, the World Islands and the Burj Al Arab.
Revellers by the thousands gathered early along the coast of Jumeirah to watch Dubai greet the New Year with a bang.
Although the fireworks display did not start on schedule, the experience was worthwhile according to Mohammad Shamir, an Indian expatriate living in Sharjah.
“I came to Jumeirah beach with my family at 6pm and I’m pleased that the display was worth the wait. It was a beautiful evening and the beach was teeming with people. We had a good time as we could see all the fireworks from where we were stationed,” Shamir said.
Filipino accountant Jeff Ramos, who watched the show with his family, agreed.
“The duration and interval of the sequences of fireworks were excellent. The fact that the fireworks display was themed made it even more beautiful, which embodies how Dubai really displays itself to the world,” Ramos said.
The family’s spot on the beach allowed them to see the extent of the fireworks from Atlantis, the Burj Al Arab, and the Palm Jumeirah.
‘Middle of the action’
“It’s like we were in the middle of the action,” Ramos said.
Over in Downtown Dubai, revellers said the Burj Khalifa fireworks, which ran for about five minutes, lived up to their expectations. Some 11,900 firework, some reaching heights of 1km, peppered the night sky in synchrony with the Dancing Fountain.
Abu Dhabi-based civil engineer Jun Acasio said the Burj Khalifa fireworks emphasised the beauty of the world’s tallest man-made structure.
“Seeing the fireworks makes you appreciate the architectural design of the colossal tower. It was just so beautiful to watch just as I had expected,” he told Gulf News.
Filipina housewife Bridgette said she made the right decision to camp out in a parking lot just across Shaikh Zayed Road. Besides skipping traffic jams, she also had an unobstructed view of the skyscraper when it lit up the night sky.
“It was really spectacular from start to finish,” Bridgette told Gulf News. “People started cheering in excitement even seconds before the fireworks started. Then it happened. It was just so beautiful.”
— with inputs from Shafaat Shahbandari, Staff Reporter
