Pyro-Tastic

Intergalactic party - Atlantis Palm Jumeirah grand opening

By Manila Chansmouth

December 2008

The Atlantis Palm Jumeirah Resort grand opening was a party too big to cram into one measly day. It required two full days of pre-party lead-up to the big bash where Kylie Minogue performed a private show for 2,000 celebrity guests.

Looking something more like a Hollywood red carpet premiere, Atlantis charmed the likes of: Charlize Theron, Lindsay Lohan, Mary-Kate Olsen, Sir Richard Branson, Petra Nemcova, Dame Shirley Bassey, John Abraham, Mischa Barton, Robert DeNiro, Janet Jackson, The Duchess of York, Michael Jordan, Boris Becker, Chris Tucker, and Lily Allen, to name a few. Hotelier extraordinaire, Sol Kerzner and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem of Nakheel, hosted the evening.

Oprah Winfrey was a no-show due to coordinating wildfire relief efforts near her Montecito, California estate. “It’s a major disappointment as she’s a great friend, but she called to say she couldn’t make it,” said Kerzner about his $20,000 party.

If you’re wondering where all they oysters in the ocean went lately, it could be due to the endless oyster and champagne appetizers offered to guests on a 21-metre blue-finned, sea dragon covered in 3,000 purple scales snaking through the crowd with hors d'oeuvres and refreshments on its back. (About the size of three buffets built in to its body.)

After whetting their appetites, invitees were treated to signature dishes prepared by Atlantis' multi Michelin-starred chefs, Santi Santamaria, Michel Rostang, Giorgio Locatelli and celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The four culinary conjurers required the assistance of 500 sous chefs and 1,000 servers to deliver their masterpieces to the A-List diners.

Bellies full, the diners-turned-concert spectators as Kylie made her Middle East debut on a 43-metre stage with 113 performers. With the current global economic crisis affecting everyone, one must work hard to make every dollar, like Kylie, who was reportedly paid over $4 million for her 60 minute set.
“I can't tell you how much pocket money I get. It goes straight into the bank,” Kylie slyly replied when asked about it.

She opened with “On a Night Like This,” wearing a black and gold Jean-Paul Gaultier creation, designed specifically for her and exclusively for the occasion and closed with “Better, The Devil You Know.”

And then the night skyline across the entire Palm Jumeirah fell dark for several minutes. Atlantis was once again the lost city.

At about 12:30 a.m., the shoreline around the Palm exploded in unison with a fireworks show that made the Beijing Olympics look like the flicker of birthday candles on a child’s cake.

The firework display was designed and executed by the Grucci group; the same people who executed the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony and they truly outdid themselves in this feat. The pageantry featured shells bursting at an altitude of 274-metres - visible from space, although we’ve yet to confirm this with the International Space Station. The pyrotechnics production utilized 79 kilometres of cable, which had been stretched across the 520 kilometres of the Palm Jumeirah by a team of over 200 people, setting up two weeks prior to the event. Plans for this fireworks showcase began over two years ago and required 60 computers to execute it with precision; definitely one of the world’s most ambitious, technically advanced and elaborate performances.

Half of the fireworks utilized were launched from 716 firing locations and were custom-made palm tree shaped bursts. The largest aerial shell rose 300 meters before its flowery burst spanned more than 200 metres in length and was equivalent in size to two football fields. In true Kerzner tradition, the lost city of Atlantis arose from the Arabian Gulf. Illuminated water cascaded down the 103 meter tall towers of Atlantis before it was extinguished by a fireworks wall set off from 400 balconies, starting at the top of the hotel and quickly spreading to all 22 floors.

The night's pyrotechnics illuminated Atlantis and the Palm Jumeirah in red, white and green in homage to Atlantis' newest home, the United Arab Emirates.  Fireworks were shipped in from China, Spain, Italy, Taiwan and the United States. More than 100,000 specially designed pyrotechnic devices were fired in less than nine minutes during the multi-luminous extravaganza, costing in the neighborhood of $3.5 million. Hey, that’s cheaper than Kylie and about as much as Disneyland budgets per calendar year for nightly fireworks shows.

Dubai does it big, so it doesn’t end there. The party has just begun.

The exclusive Royal Afterglow party followed with top American DJ, Samantha Ronson in the mix as guests danced and reveled the night away until the wee hours of the morning.

Sir Richard Branson said it best on the red carpet, “This party was obviously planned before the recession took hold three months ago. This will be the party of the decade and it'll be the last party of the decade probably.”

All this was crammed into day three – the grand finale. But what about the two other days?

Photogs caught Lily Allen frolicking around Wild Wadi in a two piece bikini, while Mischa Barton made contact with wild life – swimming with the dolphins at Atlantis’ Dolphin Bay Park.

Michael Jordan, basketball hall-of-famer, was spotted around town holding court at Club Zinc.

La Lohan, notorious party girl however, was nowhere in sight. Perhaps she couldn’t find the front door to the massive three storey suite she and gal pal Samantha Ronson shared. Rumour has it that a tiff between the two followed them to Dubai from London.

The stunning Charlize Theron was also shutterbug shy, as she and unofficial hubby Stuart Townsend stayed in the second three storey suite. Both Lohan and Theron’s suites had Lost Chambers Aquarium views descending through each floor.

Shah Rukh Khan (Bollywood’s Tom Cruise) lucked out and scored the upgrade to end all upgrades. He managed to bag Oprah’s Bridge Suite which is the pinnacle of opulence and luxurious suites offered at Atlantis. One night in this suite goes for about US $50,000. At least you get your own 24 hour butler with each nights stay. The 24k gold dining table is kind of cool too.

Robert DeNiro, an investor in the Nobu chain of restaurants, was snubbed on the upgrade only to be put up in a Presidential Suite. No wonder he looked grumpy in all his photos during his Dubai stay. DeNiro later went on to Doha where he signed an agreement to launch a Doha International Film Festival linked to his Tribeca Film Festival which he founded shortly after 9/11.

Special guests were invited to be pampered in Atlantis’ 27 posh spas. Middle Eastern Aqua Cure Spa Treatment offered celebs and playboy billionaire businessmen full body detox scrubs of coffee grounds, honey and other aromatic spices. Sounds more like something you grab at Starbucks on the way in to office.

If coffee all over you only means that you’ve spilled it, perhaps seaweed wraps is more your flavor but we’re not talking sushi hand rolls. All treatments included massages and full spa privileges, such as: indoor/outdoor jet tubs, steam rooms, and all other usual suspects found at most spas in Dubai. The premium prices, however, include full butler service, snacks and beverages.

 Party guests had private access and freedom to meander the host of high end shops offered for those who prefer retail therapy. If nothing in your closet was fitting for the event, stroll down to Roberto Cavalli and dare I say, go off the rack? Spice up the ensemble with some Harry Winston accessories. While visits to these stores were not inclusive of the celebrity stay package, we heard there were a number of celeb transactions.

The lavish three-day soiree at Atlantis was the definitely the place to be this year. The global who’s who guest list defied any signs of economic turmoil. Royalty, Oscar winning actors, and billionaire businessmen all there to toast to Dubai’s crowning jewel; Atlantis Palm Jumeirah. Credit crunch? What credit crunch?