World class fireworks to light up Dubai's sky

Dubai : The 15th running of the Dubai World Cup and Meydan's official launch is set to be the event of the year after racecourse officials yesterday announced the Dubai sky will be lit up by a spectacular fireworks display by Grucci, an internationally renowned US-based fireworks provider.

Grucci has been providing fireworks shows in US presidential inaugurations since 1981 and most recently the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Meydan's official opening ceremony coincides with the 2010 Dubai World Cup, where some of the world's best known names in horse racing will compete in eight races, including the world's richest Dubai World Cup, whose purse just got richer by $4 million (Dh14 million) and is currently offering a staggering $10 million.

Tomorrow will also see the culmination of the 7th Dubai International Racing.

In addition to the fireworks display by Grucci, the racecourse will be the venue for numerous music, dance and light shows.

Performances include but are not limited to bubble dancers, stilt walkers, caricaturists, light cube shows, human and adagio statues, unicyclists, Arabic fusion bands, jazz quartets, flamenco guitarists, breakdancers, comedy acts, fire shows, a police band, magicians, and belly dancers.

Monumental mark

Chairman of the Board and CEO of Meydan, Saeed Humaid Al Tayer said: "The launch of Meydan makes a monumental mark in history. To accomplish building the world's largest integrated racing facility is no mean feat and we are very proud to have been able to do so in a time frame that would have typically taken twice as long for others, if not more.

"Meydan is the representation of the rich history, culture and tradition of our people, born out of the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai."

"To impress upon this momentuous [event] for us all, this is the first time the Dubai World Cup is run on Tapeta, and it is also the richest race in the history of horse racing at $10 million. Followed by an opening ceremony and extravaganza planned to take all audiences on a historical, cultural and emotional journey of Emirati culture and topped off with stellar performances by Carlos Santana and Sir Elton John,"

Menu of wonders

Largest crowd ever for the Dubai World Cup.

Richest race day in the world.

Stage area spanning 1.5 kilometres wide by 1 kilometre deep.

6,725 square metres of moving projected images over 15 projection screens.

40 kilometres of pyrotechnics by the Gruccis of New York.

A total of 750 performers for the opening extravaganza.

Involvement of more than 500 production staff.

Involvement from 100 horses and riders.

First-ever 15 microlight falcons done simultaneously.