Massive Party launches The Palm Jumeirah and Atlantis

The entire Palm Jumeirah island and new luxury resort Atlantis, The Palm, were lit up in a spectacular fireworks display on Thursday night, marking the official launch of the iconic landmark and resort.

Music legend, Kylie Minogue, made her debut Middle East performance, alongside Middle-Eastern pop sensation, Nawal and Bollywood star, Priyanka Chopra, at the exclusive event for over 2,000 guests from across the globe including: Charlize Theron, Lindsay Lohan, Mary-Kate Olsen, Petra Nemcova, Agyness Deyn, Dame Shirley Bassey, Rani Mukherjee, John Abraham, Mischa Barton, Robert DeNiro, Janet Jackson, Preity Zinta, Gosha Kutsenko, The Duchess of York, Michael Jordan, Boris Becker, Bipasha Basu, the Dubai Royal Family and Lily Allen.

The highly-anticipated party was hosted by international hotelier, Sol Kerzner, Chairman of Kerzner International and H.E Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of Nakheel, the developers and operators of Atlantis, The Palm, to introduce Palm Jumeirah and the Atlantis brand to the world.

The fireworks display, designed and created by international pyrotechnics expert, Grucci, stretched across the full 520 kilometres of Palm Jumeirah, lighting up the entire island and Atlantis resort, creating a display, that organisers claim, was visible from space. Custom-made shells had been shipped in from across the globe, creating a light spectacle, set off from over 716 firing locations around the island including 400 balconies at the resort.

The display followed an high definition video illumination sequence introduced by Bollywood star, Priyanka Chopra, who rose from the stage as The Goddess of Atlantis. Designed by Marie-Jeanne Gauthé creative director for Jean Michel Jarre in Paris, the visual display used the 200 metre-wide Royal Towers as a canvas to visualise the story of Atlantis, making it one of the most ambitious HD video projections on a standing surface.

Kylie Minogue opened her 60-minute performance with “On a Night Like This”, wearing a black and gold Jean-Paul Gaultier creation, designed specifically and exclusively for the occasion and closed with ‘Better, The Devil You Know’. 

Guests dined on signature dishes prepared by Atlantis’ multi Michelin-starred chefs, Santi Santamaria, Michel Rostang, Giorgio Locatelli and celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, before heading to the exclusive Royal Afterglow party with top US DJ, Samantha Ronson.

Sol Kerzner, Chairman and CEO, Kerzner International, said, “From the beginning, I have been working with my team to create places where people can escape their everyday lives. Atlantis, The Palm is the realization of a vision we shared with our partners at Nakheel. Tonight was a landmark event for us both and I thank my worldwide guests for coming to be a part of this occasion.”

Guests for the three day series of events also engaged in the resort’s many activities including: Dolphin Bay, Aquaventure water park, The Lost Chambers, the Atlantis Spa and the resort’s Royal Pool. Atlantis hosted an exclusive cocktail party in the resort’s Royal Towers Lobby on Wednesday night, and will close the event with a culinary tour dinner on Friday the 21st in the resort’s restaurants followed by an after party at the resort’s private nightclub, Sanctuary.

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