Ushering in the New Year in legendary fashion, Ras Al Khaimah, already the holder of several world records for its renowned fireworks performances, welcomed 2023 with a mesmerising pyro-musical show, smashing two GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles.
Securing the title of the ‘largest number of operated multi-rotors/drones with a simultaneous fireworks display’ with record-breaking 671 operated drones, and setting a brand-new world record for the the ‘largest aerial sentence formed by multirotors/drones created with 673 drones, the 12-minute spectacle lit up the sky with a jaw-dropping pyrotechnic performance and larger-than-life fireworks display.
Attracting visitors from around the world, the show featured state of the art drones, nano lights, colours and shapes all choreographed to electric beats. Covering a stretch of over 4.7 kilometres, it reached a height of 1,100 meters and smashed the previous record of 458 drones. Culminating in a ‘Happy New Year 2023’ message to signal new beginnings, the drones then seamlessly transitioned into the Emirate’s iconic ‘RAKashida’ logo to tie back to the destination. Taking inspiration from the ‘kashida’ concept in Arabic calligraphy – a line that connects letters to form a word – the logo represents the Emirate’s three uniquely recognizable natural elements: the sea with its perpetual swelling and subsiding, the desert with its undulating dunes, and the mountains with their staggering elevations.
Commenting on this year’s world record-breaking fireworks show, Raki Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, said: “Ras Al Khaimah has once again proven its position as a leading tourism destination that welcomes people from all over the globe. Not only have we set two new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles for our #RAKNYE2023 celebrations, but we’ve also given thousands of visitors and residents a New Year’s Eve show that they’ll never forget. This marks a great start to what is set to be a hugely exciting and busy year for us as we continue to build the reputation of Ras Al Khaimah as the must-visit destination for 2023.”
Ensuring the best seats in the house, the celebrations were enjoyed by revellers of all ages as part of a family-oriented festival across Al Marjan Island. Offering the perfect midnight viewing platform, the community came together for an unforgettable evening, with entertainment from some of the UAE’s best DJs and artists in an electrifying concert, mesmerising carnival-like performances, on-stage crowd karaoke, food trucks and much more. The dazzling fireworks show was also visible from the many hotels lined up from Al Marjan Island to Al Hamra while many thousand others followed the celebrations live on raknye.com. The festivities saw over 30,000 visitors and hotels across the Emirate fully booked, making it the most visited show to date.
Ras Al Khaimah has a strong track record for making history with its astounding New Year’s Eve celebrations over the past four years, welcoming 2022 with the world record for the ‘Highest Altitude Multirotor/Drone Firework Display’. It also holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ titles for the ‘Most Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Launching Fireworks Simultaneously’ and the ‘Longest Fireworks Waterfall,’ gained in 2020, as well as records for the ‘Longest chain of fireworks’ and the ‘Longest straight line of fireworks’ with its 2019 New Year’s Eve Fireworks. In addition, it is home to the world’s longest zipline, Jais Flight, which spans an incredible 2.83km and recently announced its 100,000th visitor.
