UNLIKELY STARS OF INSTAGRAM
Dubai landmark tops list of photos on social media app
Burj Khalifa is tops, but look at what other Dubai buildings topped the 10 most snapped,
DUBAI // As the world’s tallest building, it is no surprise the Burj Khalifa tops a list of the most popular buildings in Dubai to appear on Instagram.
But the other nine in the top 10 make interesting reading. With more than 1.5 million posts on the app, the Burj Khalifa is 22 times more popular as a photo opportunity than the Burj Al Arab (70,400) in second place on the list compiled by the Arabian Construction Company.
Data was collected through hashtags linked to photographs posted online, with the 306-metre Cayan Tower in third place with 12,817 posts. The totals include any images posted since hashtags were first used on Instagram in 2011.
“Arabian Construction Company is proud to have constructed some of the most iconic buildings in the UAE, and we’re very happy to see that the residents of Dubai are enjoying the unique architecture of their city and sharing it with the world,” said Kay Marsh, communications manager for ACC, which built Princess Tower, Almas Tower and Elite Residence.
Cayan Tower hit the headlines in February when Russian Instagram model Viktoria Odint- cova was arrested and warned by Dubai Police for taking “extreme selfies” while hanging precariously on a high ledge . The photos were “liked” more than a million times online.
Nearby Princess Tower, the highest residential building in the world, is fourth on the Instagram list, attracting 6,503 hashtags.
Other buildings on the list have been broken into and snapped from rooftops this year by daredevils from the UK visiting Dubai to take dramatic shots of the city skyline to boost online followers. Briton James Kingston was arrested and warned by Dubai CID, and teenage daredevil Harry Gallagher, who goes by the name Nightscape, also escaped without charge. The 68- storey Almas Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Towers was fifth ( 2,769) on the list, while Ocean Heights in Dubai Marina was sixth (1,168).
Rolex Tower on Sheikh Zayed Road was snapped 966 times, and the marina’s Elite Residence was posted online with a hashtag 803 times. Making up the top 10 were Vision Tower in Business Bay, with 642 posts in ninth, while 10th spot was taken by Sulafa Tower, with 594 tags, also in Dubai Marina.
More than 14 million tourists visited Dubai in 2015 and the city aims to attract 20 million a year by 2020.