Dubai saw in 2014 in unforgettable style last night, with a successful attempt at the world record for the largest ever fireworks display.
Ten months in planning, over 500,000 fireworks were used during the display which lasted around six minutes, with Guinness World Records adjudicators on hand to confirm that a new record had been set.
Covering a distance of over 94km (61.6 miles) of the city’s seafront, the display incorporated some of Dubai’s top landmarks, including Palm Jumeirah, World Islands, the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab.
The spectacle’s final salvo of fireworks created an artificial “sunrise” along the seafront, with the highest fireworks reaching more than one kilometre in height.
Organisers had been aiming to beat a record set in 2012 during a display to mark Kuwait’s golden jubilee anniversary which saw a total of 77,282 fireworks launched.
Dubai’s attempt broke that benchmark by some margin, with enough fireworks launched within the first minute of the display alone to surpass the previous record.
What has now goes down as the biggest bang in the history of pyrotechnics was designed by U.S. firm Fireworks by Grucci.
The performance used 100 computers to synchronise the pyrotechnics, along with a choreographed musical soundtrack.
In the build up to the event, more than 200 expert technicians worked 5,000 man hours to ensure that the fireworks’ timing was accurate down to the millisecond.
Speaking ahead of the event, Alistair Richards, Global President of Guinness World Records, who had travelled especially to Dubai from London to witness the display, said: ‘The scale of this record attempt is truly impressive and will ensure all eyes are on Dubai.