Someone told me that Dubai will be entered into the Guinness World Records for the largest fireworks display held at the beach, marking the 2016 New Year. I was not at all surprised by this piece of information, for a number of reasons. The first is that Dubai is a global city acclaimed for astonishing the world in many fields, and therefore, such news no longer amazes us, because Dubai, over the course of many years, has always amazed us.
Dubai has made its way into the Guinness World Records in many other areas, some of which were unprecedented, such as having the longest flower wall and the largest LED screen. Dubai Courts broke a record for the most expensive ship sale in an electronic auction. Dubai Metro was also entered into the Guinness World Records as the longest driverless Metro network in the world. Dubai is also home to the world’s largest graffiti scroll, spanning an area of 2,245.40 metres and created by 150 artists.
This is an extensive list of record-breaking achievements, and as such, the news that Dubai’s New Year celebrations broke another record does not surprise us anymore, because this achievement transcended the aspect of ‘size’ and onto something much deeper in meaning.
The world witnessed the New Year celebrations of various capitals around the world, captivated by the multi-coloured fireworks and wondering which display was more unique and beautiful. But something different and significant was unfolding in Dubai, something that captured the attention of the world to the Burj Khalifa area, which is no larger than two square kilometres.
On New Year’s Day, after the previous night’s celebrations, and after taking a quick look at the headlines of the local papers, and the foreign ones, there was one headline that caught my eye: ‘On New Year’s Eve, fire engulfs Address Downtown hotel in Dubai’.
Indeed, the fire from that night was engulfing the Address Downtown as the New Year celebrations took place at Downtown and Jumeirah Beach, witnessed by more than one million people in the UAE, most of whom were in the Downtown area. The fireworks displays were also watched on TV by hundreds of millions of people around the world.
The focus here will not be on what caused the fire, as reports from official bodies stated that investigations were still ongoing to uncover the details behind the incident.
Arabic and foreign TV news channels were broadcasting contrasting scenes: The dazzling celebrations at Jumeirah Beach against the backdrop of the various high-rise buildings, and the fire at the Address.
This resulted in people wondering whether the fire was caused by the fireworks, which meant that for a moment, the viewers were merging the two images. This evoked different emotions and sentiments regarding the situation, such as a mixture of conflicting feelings — enjoyment of the fireworks and empathy regarding the fire that broke out. It is a scene that never happened before in any modern city around the world, except in Dubai.
A visitor from a nearby Gulf country, who was visiting Dubai to attend the New Year celebrations, narrated to me his experience on that day. He told me that everyone could see that the fire was engulfing the hotel floor by floor. However, no one felt that the situation was dangerous enough to justify leaving Downtown Dubai. He said that the people were, strangely, very calm, and pointed out that some officials were telling them not to worry, informing them that the blaze was under control and that they should have a good time and enjoy the celebrations.
So what was the outcome presented to us by Dubai, as observers of these thrilling news and events?
In one night, Dubai captured the attention of people twice and evoked mixed feelings. The first instance was during the longest fireworks display at Jumeirah Beach. The second was during the emirate’s success in the firefighting and evacuation operations when dealing with the fire at the Address Downtown, which is located in a narrow area packed with high-rise buildings and hundreds of thousands of people. The operation was also completed in record time and no major losses were reported.
Another successful outcome was that on the following day, the entire world was not talking about the world’s New Year celebrations or fireworks displays in different capitals. They were talking about events in Dubai.
Dubai once again dominated headlines and news reports, and now is a case study to be raised in conferences and seminars on crisis management.
Meanwhile, one can only express their best wishes regarding the safety of those affected by the fire at the hotel, and congratulate those involved in the successful firefighting operations, which were carried out in a professional manner that will remain the main topic of discussion among people around the world for sometime. As for the people of the UAE, they will forever be happy and proud.
Mohammad Hassan Al Harbi is a writer and journalist.
