Things have been a little quiet on the Dubai front lately, but that doesn’t mean they’ve given up on expensive creations. The recently completed Dubai Fountain, for instance, is the most expensive fountain in the world.
The construction of the fountain by WET Design, the same company that designed the only slightly less impressive Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas, was announced in June, 2008, and the announcement was followed by a contest to name the fountain. The fifteen entrants who suggested “Dubai Fountain” split a prize of 100,000 dirham (US $27,226).
Image used under CC BY-SA 3.0 License
The Fountain itself is set in Burj Dubai Lake in the Downtown Burj Dubai development project which also includes the supertall skyscraper Burj Dubai and the Dubai Mall. Dubai Fountain is over 900 feet long and can spray jets up to 500 feet high. The fountain can spray as much as 22,000 gallons of water in the air at any given time, which can be visually enhanced by 6,600 WET superlights and 25 color projectors. The fountain can be set to music, including the Swahili song Baba Yetu from the popular video game Civilization IV and top Arab dance song Shik Shak Shok.
The Dubai Fountain cost $217 million to build.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
first comment and wow 217 mill??? why would you pay for that tourist trap?!?!?!?
Uhh, for another 1000000000 dollars in tourist attraction it gives. Given the minus about 2 million dollars a year to pick up their crap they leave behind and minus 100 million dollars a year for maintenance.
that fountain display is absolutely breathtaking and beautiful.
and if you have the money to build the ‘tourist trap’ why not?