New Year rings in new hopes

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa last night exchanged cables of congratulations on the advent of the New Year 2020, with the leaders of Arab, Islamic and friendly countries. HM the King extended deepest congratulations, wishing them all abundant health and happiness and their brotherly and friendly countries and peoples further progress and prosperity.

His Majesty prayed for security, peace and prosperity for all countries and peoples in the world during the New Year. His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier also exchanged similar cables of congratulations with leaders of Arab, Islamic and friendly countries.

The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) hosted New Year’s Eve celebrations at The Park, The Avenues – Bahrain, last night. As part of the festivities, BTEA organised a series of events and activities to mark the occasion. Spectators enjoyed the breath-taking musical aerial performance by the dancers and acrobats of Sonic, in addition to a projection of the countdown timer chiming in the New Year on the side facade of the Four Seasons Bahrain Bay hotel; marking the beginning of 2020.

Unforgettable performances and a spectacular fireworks display were added attractions. In Dubai, Emaar, the master developer of the Burj Khalifa, wowed over two billion people across the globe with a breathtaking pyrotechnic show on the world’s tallest building to ring in 2020.

In a mesmerising story, the Burj Khalifa transformed through animation, light, sounds and a synchronised fountain show taking viewers on a journey at the onset of a new decade. Following the traditional 10 second digital countdown on the lit façade of Burj Khalifa, the clock struck midnight, signalling the Downtown Dubai skyline to be filled with a flurry of fireworks and colour for a record-breaking eight-minute and forty three second-long show.

Those lucky enough to view the show, were treated to the longest set of consecutive fireworks in the history of the Burj Khalifa NYE shows, timed at over five minutes. The show featured a total of 1,371 kg of fireworks, which were placed across a colossal 207 firing locations. To mark the dawn of a new decade the show on Burj Khalifa was conceptualised by Emaar.

Every second of the show was as enchanting as previously billed and incorporated fireworks, animations on the Burj Khalifa LED façade, music compositions and a beautiful fountain show. The highly anticipated event welcomed over one million onlookers in  Downtown Dubai, Emaar’s flagship mega-development, to witness 15,000 perfectly choreographed fireworks showcasing 48 pyrotechnic patterns, signalling the start of a new decade.

Celebrations also included the longest ever The Dubai Fountain Show since the fountains launched in 2009, adding yet another prestigious milestone of the water-music spectacle. The world-famous show took 160 hours across four weeks to choreograph and featured 113.5 kilolitres of water in the air at one time, released from an astounding 1,137 water shooters, and 6,612 lights.