Expatriate Life in Dubai » Events in Dubai

Burj Dubai Opening Ceremony Photos 4th of January 2010

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:48:54 +0000

Burj Dubai was finally open on the 4th of January 2010. They managed to complete the tallest building in the world in 5 years and did a show that no one will be able to repeat for quite some time. It was just amazing and I bet very expensive.

Actually I felt a bit sceptical when I was going to take some pictures of the Burj Dubai opening ceremony…

The Burj Dubai opening ceremony was announced to start at 17:00 on the 4th of January 2010. I came to The Dubai Mall at about 15:30, easily parked the car on parking level 5 and went to see what’s going on.

There were quite some people at the Waterfront. It was like a showcase of the world’s cameras, lenses and tripods. Everyone wanted to get a picture – amateurs with iPhones and mature photographers with Canon 1D Mark III. I just hanged around for a while and finally found a spot at Souk Al Bahar behind some women who were smaller than the height of my tripod.

As 17:00 was approaching, so was the crowd. At 5 o’clock the place became a little too overcrowded. Nothing started at 17:00 though. Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum arrived at around 19:00 and was speaking to other VIP guests with Burj Dubai passes on the Burj Dubai side of the water. The other visitors could see what’s happening on two screens standing on the mall’s side.

A bit later than 20:00, the show began. Just see the pictures of the Burj Dubai fireworks.

It ended at about 21:00, so I headed to my car. That’s wasn’t easy. I went off Souk Al Bahar to Emaar boulevard and got into The Dubai Mall via one of its parking entrances. Then I spent another hour and a half trying to leave it. The Dubai Mall’s parking was not made for five thousand cars leaving at the same time. I never understood why the architect of the mall’s parking made so many narrow passages with curbs. In a heavy traffic jam they just make it harder to drive while they don’t seem to be necessary.

And again, I was very upset with the driving culture. Most of the people just didn’t give way to others, horned and behaved like they were the only on the road.

Burj Dubai opening ceremony photos

Burj Dubai opening ceremony

Arabian dancing

Burj Dubai opening - 17:00

Burj Dubai opening ceremony

Burj Dubai opening fireworks

First fireworks above the Dubai Mall

Burj Dubai opening ceremony

Burj Dubai fireworks

Burj Dubai on fire?

Burj Dubai fireworks

When the fire settled down

The End of the ceremony

Burj Dubai opening on 4th of January 2010

admin — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 07:00:12 +0000

Burj Dubai opening date has been announced. The tallest building in the world will open on the 4th of January 2010.

Update: It has been open! Opening ceremony report and pictures here.

Click the picture for more photos

I took some photos today, the 4th of December 2009, a month before the opening.

See more Burj Dubai facts on the Burj Dubai page in Landmarks section.

Burj Dubai in December 2009 (view from the Old Town)

Burj Dubai in December 2009 (view from Souk Al Bahar)

Burj Dubai in December 2009 (the peak)

Burj Dubai Classic Car Show December 2009

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:54:35 +0000

Today I was going to take a photo of Burj Dubai when I saw a few beautiful classic cars on the Burj side of Emaar boulevard in the Old Town. I couldn’t help myself stopping and taking a few pictures of those cars. Later I found on the Internet that it was the second Burj Dubai classic cars show. The first one was in February 2009.

I had only managed to take pictures of 4 of those wonderful cars, as a very important security guy came to me and asked not to come too close to the cars. The cars were put on a kind of step and were enclosed with ropes. I didn’t cross the ropes but went over the step not to let the ropes screw the pictures up.

‘The step is for the security guards’ he told me. I just said him how ridiculous it was, as there were 4 security guards and I was the only visitor but he didn’t want to listen. I had to say him good bye and back down, as there was no chance to get good pictures without offending the rules.

Well, I didn’t miss much. There were only 6 or 7 cars, and I got cool pictures of 4 of them.

Porsche 911 GT1, 1998

Porsche 911 GT1 was announced in 1996 to compete at 1996’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It’s got 3.2 DOHC twin-turbo flat 6 cylinders engine making 600 hp (450 kW). It accelerates to 100 kph in 3.3 seconds. The top speed is 378 kph.

Porsche 911 GT1 1998

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, 1956

Only 3,258 Mercedes Benz 300 SL were built from 1955 to 1963. Now the prices of this model reach 700k USD.

Mercedes Benz 300SL 1956

Lincoln Continental 1948

Lincoln Mark I Continental was developed as a one-off vehicle for Edsel Ford. However, it became a successful production car.

Lincoln Continental 1948

Lincoln Continental Mark II

Among the celebrities who drove this car were Elvis Presley, Shah of Iran, Nelson Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger. Looks cool, doesn’t it?

Lincoln Continental Mark II