Stage set for Dubai’s fireworks record attempt

Muaz Shabandri / 20 December 2013

Dubai’s attempt to break the record will be closely watched by adjudicators from Guinness World Records. 

Firework shells being connected to a circuit board. KT photo by Shihab

On New Year’s Eve Dubai’s skies will come alive with a six-minute fireworks display choreographed across the whole of The Palm Jumeirah and the islands of The World  as the city attempts to set another world record. The show will cover 99.4km of seafront and feature 450,000 fireworks in 400 locations. The world record attempt will conclude with a 15-minute display covering a one-kilometre stretch of the Jumeirah beach.
Massive preparations are under way for the record attempt, and Khaleej Times got a sneak peek at what’s happening behind the scenes at a restricted site in Palm Jumeirah, where police and security teams guard a large consignment of firework shells and mortars.
On site, hundreds of workers were busy connecting circuits and following design schemes for the show.

Workers putting final touches to firework shells on board trailer trucks at a site in Palm Jumeirah.  -  KT photo by Shihab

Pyrotechnic experts from ‘Fireworks by Grucci’ have been commissioned and the site tour unveiled the full extent of preparations undertaken by the show organisers. More than 40 trailers have been loaded with firework shells and buffer zones have been created for safety. Each truck has been loaded with several racks of firework shells, which will be filled with live elements and connected to circuits before being despatched to different areas of Palm Jumeirah for the show. The Palm crescent will also light up with floating platoons used as launch platforms.

Dubai’s attempt to break the record will be closely watched by adjudicators from Guinness World Records. Kuwait holds the current world record for the largest firework display with 77,282 fireworks used to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the formation of its constitution.