In town, just for the fireworks
dubai — They came from various parts of the globe — from Bolivia to Manila; Riyadh to Mumbai; and Singapore to Czech Republic. No, they’re not resident expats, but tourists who visited the city for the sole purpose of watching the amazing New Year’s Eve fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.
As early as 3pm, Singaporean tourist Thomas Ong rolled out a mat at Burj Park. Readying his camera and making sure his smartphone is fully charged, Thomas told Khaleej Times that he wants to capture every moment of the fireworks display, beamed live across the world.
“But I don’t want to watch it on video. I want to see it live and feel its intensity up close — that’s why we came here,” said Thomas, who was joined by his wife Vivien and their 17-year-old daughter Ong Shi Yinn. The Singaporean family arrived in Dubai on Thursday. They were joined by Ku Kian Boon and Esther Neo, who were both impressed by the emirate and called it a ‘city of superlatives.’
Esther told Khaleej Times: “We don’t have the same fireworks display in Singapore. Back there, it’s not allowed to have pyrotechnics display on tall towers. But here, in Dubai, it’s really amazing.”
Same praise was also uttered by Louvion Nicolas and Veronika Zarubova from Czech Republic who came to Dubai not just to see the fireworks display but also to immerse in the city’s tradition. “We were impressed by the city’s modern architecture as well as its Bedouin tradition.”
Every year, the fireworks spectacle draws an estimated two million crowd, positioned at the Burj Khalifa and surrounding areas. People arrived as early as 10am and they were not bothered by the long wait just to get the best and most comfortable view.
The Mukalwas family from India made sure of that. All eleven of them, who came all the way from Pune, Mumbai and Nagpur, were positioned at the Burj Park. While waiting for the fireworks, they ordered pizza, had tea and enjoyed some Indian sweets.
“A perfect family bonding,” Arjay, the designated ‘spokesperson’ of the family, told KT. He added: “I’ve seen a lot of amazing fireworks — 4th of July in Washington DC; dropping of New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square and also in Hyderabad, and tonight I can tick off Burj Khalifa in my bucket list.”
The Pamintuan family also travelled by car for 12 hours from Riyadh just to see the Burj Khalifa fireworks. “After this, we will go to LEGOLAND on Sunday and we will see the other tourist hubs of Dubai,” Johanna Pamintuan said.
For Bolivian citizens Omar and Steven Rodriguez, it was a father and son bonding that made them travel to Dubai from Washington, where they are both based.
“We arrived in Dubai on Saturday morning, then we went straight to see the Burj Khalifa. We joined the crowd coming from The Dubai Mall and ended up at Burj Park,” Steven said. “This was a planned holiday because we wanted to see something different from the usual fireworks in the US.”
Meanwhile, it was filial obligation that prompted Angeli Amil and Pam Gumera to bring their respective mums, Vilma and Sonia, to Dubai. “We’ve been here for two years and we have suitable jobs. Now it’s about time we brought our mothers here so they can also enjoy the comforts of Dubai.”