The world record for the largest ever pyrotechnic display on New Year's Eve was shattered with a Dubai show involving more than half a million fireworks, Guinness World Records said on Wednesday.
"Ten months in planning, over 500,000 fireworks were used during the display which lasted around six minutes, with Guinness World Records adjudicators on hand to confirm that a new record had been set," the Guinness website said.
According to the Agence France-Presse, the display spread over 58.4 miles of the Dubai coast, which boasts an archipelago of man-made islands and Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, Guinness said.
The previous record, set by Kuwait in 2011 with an hour-long show of 77,282 fireworks was defeated by the launch of enough fireworks in the first minute of the display, AFP reported.
Burj Khalifa and the luxurious Atlantis hotel located in Palm Jumeirah, one of three palm-shaped islands was the venue where the main display took place.
U.S firm Fireworks by Grucci designed the display, Guinness said, using 100 computers and 200 technicians to synchronize the pyrotechnics at a reported cost of around $6 million, AFP reported.
Dubai boasts the world's tallest tower, its largest man-made island and one of the world's busiest airports. The latest record was set in May last year with Dubai, Princess Tower, recorded by Guinness as the world's tallest residential building.
Dubai has been vying to become a permanent fixture on the world map of New Year celebrations, staging spectacular shows since the opening of the 828-metre (2,716-foot) Burj Khalifa tower in 2010, according to AFP.
The glitzy Gulf city, which has already established itself as a global hub for air transport and transit trade, as well as a regional financial centre, beat off opposition from Brazil, Russia and Turkey in November to win the right to host the World Expo trade fair in 2020.
The Gulf city is home to an expatriate population of more than 200 nationalities due ti its reputation as a liberal city in a conservative region, AFP reported.
