The Dubai Fountain

The Dubai Fountain is the largest choreographed fountain in the world and it is set on a Burj Khalifa Lake, a 30-acre man-made lake positioned ideally at the heart of Downtown Dubai in Dubai, UAE. The dubai fountains were designed by a California-based company, the WET Design. It was the same company that designed the Bellagio Hotel fountains in Las Vegas in Nevada, USA.

The Dubai Fountain is illuminated by 25 colored projectors and 6,600 WET Super-lights, which are known as the most modern incandescent huge fountain lights that are available today. This combination of lights and color beautifully create a magical visual range of over a thousand of different water expressions. The 50-color projectors, on the other hand provide full continuum of color with entire production of 1.5 million lumens.

It is also 275 meters long and it shoots water for up to 500 feet into the air with the accompaniment of different music – from classical and contemporary Arabian music to world music. At more than 900 feet in length, the fountains are as long as more than two football pitches. The estimated cost of the whole project is at USD 218 Million or AED 800 Million.

The Name of Dubai Fountain

A contest was held for the name for the Dubai fountains and the winning name was selected Emaar Properties and the announcement was held on October 26 of 2008. It was on February of 2009 when the first Dubai fountain timings have been tested, but the official inauguration was held on March 8, 2009 – the same date that the Dubai Mall was opened officially.

Developments of the Dubai Fountain

The fountain has the ability to shoot up to 22 thousand gallons of water up into the air. By the end of the year 2010, the fountain got improvements with a new element, which is fire. The inclusion of fire was temporary and intended only for the New Year’s celebration for the coming year of 2011.

The Dubai fountains have unique design that comprises of five circles of different sizes and of two arcs, and they feature powerful water nozzles that can shoot water for up to remarkable heights.

Dubai Fountain Show

The Dubai fountain show is a highly captivating water, light and music spectacle that only happens in downtown Dubai. It also offers performances to a series of different music and songs. The lights and the water look like they are dancing in the air because the water is projected in several patterns and combinations. When there is a show going on, the beam of the lights being produced by the fountain can actually be seen from more than 20 miles away.

The fountain performs daily and is accompanied by a variety of music from classical to modern Arabic tunes to celebrated world melodies. The performance selection including: Baba Yetu (award-winning Swahili song); Sama Dubai; Shik Shak Shok (Arab world’s top-selling dance number); and Con te partiro (the signature music work of popular Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli that meansTime to Say Goodbye).

During the inauguration of the fountain in 2009, there were two shooter types – the super shooters (can shoot water under pressure for up to 240 feet up in the air) and the extreme shooters (can shoot water under pressure for up to 420 feet up in the air). Since it requires more time in building up enough energy and pressure in shooting water that high way up, the super shooters are the most used during each Dubai fountain show. The extreme shooters, on the other hand were used once and it was during the fountain’s opening ceremony, soon after that they got disabled and never used again for the shows.

Dubai Fountain Show Schedule

If you want to watch this wonderful spectacle of lights, water and music right at the heart of downtown Dubai, you may want to check out this show schedule.

• Dubai Fountain Afternoon Shows – 1:00 pm and 1:30 pm
• Dubai Fountain Evening Shows – Sunday to Wednesday from 6 pm to 11 pm, Thursday to Saturday from 6 pm to 11:30 pm

Dubai Fountain Repertoire

Aside from the above mentioned selections, the fountain also dances to these tunes:

• Inshed An Aldar an Emirati song that was specifically written for the Burj Khalifa inauguration January 4, 2010
• Dhoom Thana, by Abhijeet – a Hindi song
• Bassbor Al Fourgakom – Hussain Al Jasmi
• Mon Amour – Shiraz
• Waves by Bijan Mortazavi
• Ishtar Poetry – Furat Qaddouri
• I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
• Thriller – Michael Jackson
• All Night Long – Lionel Richie
• The Magnificent Seven – Elmer Bernstein
• Mio Babbino Caro – Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
• Enta Omri – Hossam Ramzy
• Lana Allah – Mohammed Abdu
• The Prayer – Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli
• Flying Drum – Vertical Orchestra – Drums
• Butterfly Lovers – a Violin Concerto
• Ensan Akthar
• Everybody On – For the whole month of October in 2011
• Hero – Enrique Iglesias (Spanish version)
• Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
• Walk on the wild side
• Ishy Bilady – The UAE National Anthem
• Mission Impossible
• Wen Bie – Jacky Cheung
• From The New World – Herbert von Karajan
• Turandot/Act 3-Nessun Dorma – John Alldis Choir
• Ab Bali Habibi – Elissa

Dubai Fountain Magical Lake Ride

One of the best things you can do in Dubai that involves the fountain is setting sail on the ultimate boat ride on the famous Burj Lake, where the magical Dubai fountains are set. By boarding a traditional Abra you can truly enjoy an out of this world show of sounds and sights right at the center of Downtown Dubai. Get that once in a lifetime experience to get up close and personal with the iconic Dubai Fountain.

There is indeed no doubt that one of Dubai’s most enticing tourist attractions is The Dubai Fountain and it certainly delights thousands of guests every day. It is not just the tallest performing found the world; it is also a structure that shows what great minds can come up with. Imagine a man-made lake in the middle of the city and a great fountain system in the middle of that lake.