Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi break records with New Year fireworks and drone displays

Tallest pyrotechnics structure among five Guinness World Records set in UAE

Ras Al Khaimah welcomed the New Year with a record-breaking fireworks display. All photos: RAK Media Office

The chain of aquatic floating fireworks spanned 5.8 kilometres

The second record broken was for the longest straight-line drones display, a total length of 2 kilometres

More than 50,000 people watched the midnight celebrations

The show featured an acrobatic pyro planes display inspired by the emirate's scenery

Aquatic floating fireworks were displayed to look like a carpet of pyrotechnics

From left: Raki Phillips, chief executive of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority; Raafat Tawfik, Guinness World Records official adjudicator; and Phil Grucci of Grucci fireworks, the company behind the pyrotechnics

It was another record-breaking New Year's Eve in the UAE, with five Guinness World Records broken across two emirates.

Two records were achieved in Ras Al Khaimah last night, following an eight-minute-long fireworks and drone display to celebrate the New Year.

The pyrotechnics lit up the sky in the northern emirate, spanning a waterfront stretch on Al Marjan Island.

The display broke the records for the longest chain of aquatic floating fireworks, spanning 5.8 kilometres, and the longest straight-line drones display, a total length of two kilometres.

More than 50,000 people watched the midnight celebrations, according to the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority. The show featured a combination of 1,050 LED drones, aquatic floating fireworks displayed to look like a carpet of pyrotechnics, and an acrobatic pyro planes display, inspired by the natural scenery of the emirate.

“Breaking two more Guinness World Records titles has set the stage for an unforgettable night of celebration bringing together thousands of visitors and residents,” said Raki Phillips, chief executive of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority.

“As we kick off the new year, 2023 has been an exceptional year for tourism in Ras Al Khaimah with numerous achievements and the highest ever annual number of visitors recorded, propelling the Nature Emirate further in attracting over 3 million annual visitors by 2030.”

Ras Al Khaimah already held a number of Guinness World Records. To welcome 2018, celebrations on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah featured the largest aerial fireworks shell. The projectile was a giant firecracker weighing 1,087 kilograms, which was assembled over two months by US company Grucci. An audience of 100,000 people watched the pyrotechnic light up the sky at midnight.

In the following two years, Ras Al Khaimah added to its collection of records with the longest chain of fireworks and longest firework waterfall, with the latter consisting of 11,284 fireworks.

At Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba, the 40-minute fireworks display, featuring 5,000 drones, broke four records in terms of duration, quantity and design intricacy.

According to organisers, the records were broken for the tallest pyrotechnics structure, the most repeated firework image formations in one minute and “the most candles on a fan structure”. A fourth record was broken for the largest aerial logo formed by drones.

The feat comes on the back of last year's achievements, when the festival broke three records, including the most firework pinwheels with 150, and the most girandola fireworks launched in 30 seconds with 92. A girandola firework is a “large helicopter device that shoots straight upwards and ends with a colour burst effect,” according to US company Stateline Fireworks.