Ras Al Khaimah reveals behind the scenes of its biggest New Year’s Eve fireworks show

Dubai: Ras Al Khaimah is preparing to stage its most spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks display to date, with a main show that will run for 15 minutes and feature one of the largest fireworks displays in the world.

As the clock strikes midnight, the show will reach a dramatic finale with the launch of the largest single firework ever attempted. But what goes on behind the scenes to bring such an ambitious vision to life and to break records at the same time?

A behind-the-scenes glimpse of the midnight countdown

The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has shared a behind-the-scenes (BTS) look at the meticulous planning and creativity that goes into the emirate’s iconic New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“This New Year's Eve celebration in Ras Al Khaimah is truly special, not only because it's our biggest show yet, but also that every part of it has been orchestrated with so much heart and creativity,” said Phillipa Harrison, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA).

Stretching across an astonishing six kilometres from Al Marjan Island to Al Hamra, the celebration will combine traditional fireworks with cutting-edge drone and laser technology. The night sky will be brought to life by more than 2,300 drones, including pyro drones and laser drones, forming vast aerial patterns above the coastline.

The global teams behind the RAK New Year’s Eve fireworks

The organisers have once again partnered with American pyrotechnics company Grucci to create the fireworks, alongside British drone specialists Sky Magic for the aerial drone show.

Both companies were involved in last year’s record-breaking fireworks display and are planning something even bigger and more ambitious this year.

“This is the largest Ras Al Khaimah has ever seen. It's also the largest quantity of drones Sky Magic have ever flown in one form. So for us, it's really pushing the boundaries,” said Stuart Fairhurst, Technical Director at Sky Magic.

“At Grucci, there are over 150 people that are involved in this production and that ranges from engineers, designers but the biggest portion of that group are the pyrotechnicians,” said Phil Grucci, CEO and Creative Director of Grucci.

What’s new in this year’s New Year’s Eve show?

While many details are being kept under wraps to preserve the element of surprise, the teams behind the production have shared a glimpse into how the show is designed to build towards a powerful midnight crescendo that captures the spirit of New Year’s Eve.

For the Grucci team, the challenge lies in working with a wide, linear stage that stretches horizontally across the coastline, requiring careful choreography of colour, movement and timing.

For the Grucci team, there’s a lot of dynamic movement because there’s a horizontal, yet very wide and linear stage to work with.

“How you arrange it, how you arrange the colours and the shapes and the movement, the dynamics is what makes the design unique year after year. For a New Year's Eve celebration, the show has to be a crescendo right specifically at midnight,” Grucci said.

A mythical creature takes flight in the sky

For the drone show, Sky Magic is pushing creative boundaries even further. Fairhurst hinted at the creation of a mythical creature with a wingspan of over 400 metres, formed by more than 2,300 drones.

“How do you sort of celebrate the birth of a new year and the passing of another? And what better than a phoenix rising from the ashes and taking us all aspirationally towards the heavens.”

A track record of Guinness World Records

Over the past seven years, Ras Al Khaimah’s New Year celebrations have achieved 13 Guinness World Record titles. In New Year’s Eve 2025, the emirate added two more records to that list through its drones and fireworks display.

The first record was for the largest aerial display of a tree formed by drones, while the second was for the largest aerial image of a seashell formed by drones.