The world’s biggest shopping mall, the world’s tallest skyscraper, and the world’s largest “choreographed” fountain: the ultimate trifecta of monumental excess. “Monumental” and “excess” might be the best words to describe Dubai, the home of these three spectacular international landmarks, all positioned adjacent to each other in the city center. Their combination is an embodiment of the city’s explosive economic potential – and, of course, its potential for collapse.
The Dubai Fountain is a dynamic system of high-pressure jets and water-propelling robots. Situated in the 30-acre artificial Burj Khalifa Lake, the fountain can shoot 22,000 gallons of water up to 500 feet in the air, in coordination with the flashing and fading of 6,600 lights and 25 color projectors. This bombastic show moves in time to a soundtrack of contemporary pop music and traditional Arabic melodies – anything from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (a crowd favorite) to “Beba Yetu,” the theme tune of the videogame Civilization IV.
Water is a rapidly diminishing natural resource in the Gulf region. The Sheikh of Abu Dhabi recently referred to water as “the new oil.” And in the heart of the Arabian desert, water signifies wealth: the green, the growing and the organic are connected to privilege and excess. Here, an undeniable link exists between free-market capitalist spending, entertainment, leisure, and extravagant use of water.
In January 2013, the annual International Water Summit was held in Abu Dhabi – a meeting of world leaders, economists, and venture capitalists to address the increasingly pressing world water crisis. Within the same month, Yas Waterpark Abu Dhabi, which features the world’s biggest water slide, announced it was in the final stages of construction. It’s easy to proclaim the water crisis...but much harder to resist the bragging rights and tourist cash that come with water slides and dancing fountains.
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