$20 million worth of fireworks in five minutes

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Dubai recently celebrated the opening of a new luxury hotel with a lavish $20 million event, featuring film stars, sports personalities, and an extravagant fireworks display. Despite the global financial crisis and a significant drop in oil prices, the city continues to showcase its wealth and opulence. Critics note the excessiveness of such spending, questioning the priorities of a culture that emphasizes luxury over practical contributions to society, such as charitable donations or medical research. The scale of the fireworks display, which spanned a vast area, was both impressive and criticized for losing its impact when viewed from the ground. Observers highlight Dubai's strategic investment in tourism as a way to secure its future as an attractive destination, especially as its oil wealth is projected to diminish in the coming decades. The choice of sirens during the event sparked humor and concern, suggesting a disconnect with the region's context.
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DUBAI (AFP) — Shrugging off the global financial crisis, Dubai overnight toasted a new luxury hotel with a 20 million dollar bash attended by film stars and sporting greats and marked by a spectacular fireworks display...
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jLy5JmQO0rujtgIhagTrOSwBRkfg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHAIItGzjRw
 
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That's a little excessive.

Someone should remind them that the price of oil is a third of what it was.
 
LowlyPion said:
That's a little excessive.

Someone should remind them that the price of oil is a third of what it was.

Its Dubai. Their entire culture is based on havnig large amounts of money and letting everyone else know it. What do you think they would do with all that cash, give $20 million to the red cross or use it to fund research to help cure diseases? :rolleyes: Only stupid saps like us spend money on such practical things.
 
It is off the scale - it is a phenomenon that cannot be properly appreciated.

Fireworks seen from the air defeat the purpose and lose their awe and majesty. Yet the display is far too large to be appreciated from the ground (since it obviously spans the entire Palm Dubai, an area of 25 square kilometers).

That, in itself, is kind of awe-inspiring and kind of sad at the same time.
 
It's more than just showing off. They know their days as an oil-rich nation are limited - something like twenty years, IIRC - so they have invested tremendously in a future of tourism. They are trying to position themselves as THE resort destination in the ME.
 
When the sirens when off at the end, all I could think of was "fire alarm!" like they had caught the new hotel on fire.
 
turbo-1 said:
When the sirens when off at the end, all I could think of was "fire alarm!" like they had caught the new hotel on fire.

Heh, I was thinking that air raid sirens may not be the best choice for a ME resort.
 

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