Dubai rolled out the red carpet Wednesday night for a roster of celebrities that included British singer Leona Lewis to help open the tallest hotel in the world.
In a city already oozing with glitz and glamour, the opening party for the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai amped up the voltage escorting 1,200 party guests into the hotel with fire dances and stilt walkers under the constant flicker of flashbulbs.
At just 26 metres shy of the Empire State Building in New York, the world’s tallest hotel stands at 355 metres and consists of twin towers each with 77 floors.
Performances included a headline act by British singer Leona Lewis, while the guest list included appearances by fashion designer Donna Karan, and local celebrities such as singer Salha and the Million Dollar Band, as well as Dubai TV personality DJ Bliss.
The hotel’s nine restaurants and five bars, which serve a variety of cuisines including Asian-Fusion, Italian, American, German, and steakhouse fare, are now open.
Other Guinness world record holders in Dubai include the Burj Khalifa, which at 828 metres is the tallest man-made structure on land, and the Dubai Mall, the largest of its kind in the world.
Plans are also afoot to build the largest Ferris wheel in Dubai, with the Dubai Eye.