Timeframe: 16 fascinating facts about Dubai Fountain as visitors prepare to flood back

Attraction that first flowed 16 years ago will welcome guests again on October 1 following a five-month closure

Dubai Fountain is one of the city's most popular attractions. Photo: Dubai Tourism

Dubai Fountain, one of the city’s most popular attractions, is set to roar back to life after a five-month closure.

The world’s largest performing fountain has been undergoing upgrades since its last show on April 19, with developer Emaar promising advanced technology, sharper choreography and enhanced sound and lighting systems when it reopens to the public on October 1.

Since its inauguration in 2009, the attraction at the foot of Burj Khalifa has been a major tourist draw, and an integral part of Downtown Dubai's annual record-breaking New Year's Eve event – the most-visited fireworks show in the UAE.

Ahead of its reopening, here are 16 facts about the Dubai Fountain, which turned 16 this year.

1. Dubai Fountain opened to the public on May 8, 2009, along with the official opening of Dubai Mall, which was inaugurated in a grand ceremony by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid formally inaugurated Dubai Mall and Dubai Fountain on May 8, 2009. Pawan Singh / The National

2. Ahead of its opening, a competition was launched to ask the public to help name the fountain. More than 4,000 people representing more than 100 nationalities entered the competition. Emaar offered Dh100,000 in prize money to the winning entry. The sum was divided among 15 participants who suggested the name Dubai Fountain.

3. The first song performed at Dubai Fountain was Sama Dubai by Emirati singer Mehad Hamad. Rooted in traditional Emirati music and poetry, the song pays tribute to the emirate and its rich heritage.

4. The fountain's set-list has evolved over time and, until its closure earlier this year, had 48-plus pieces of music featuring everyone from Adele, Luciano Pavarotti and Lionel Richie to Edith Piaf and K-pop boy band Exo.

5. Set on the 23-hectare Burj Dubai Lake, the fountain shoots water jets as high as 150 metres, equivalent to that of a 50-storey building and has more than 83,200 of water in the air at any time. The fountain is 275 metres long and has five circles of varying sizes and two central arcs.

6. Dubai Fountain was designed by the California-based Wet, the creators of the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas, and reportedly cost $218 million to build.

People enjoying the Dubai Fountain show on New Year's Eve in 2024. Pawan Singh / The National

7. Helping to add spectacle to the fountain's performance are more than 6,600 Wet Superlights, reportedly the most advanced incandescent large fountain lights available today, and 25 colour projectors. The beam of light shining upwards from the fountain can be seen from more than 32km away.

8. Environmental solutions company Veolia Environment is the company responsible for keeping the water in the Burj Lake and the Dubai Fountain safe. The filtering system was specially built for the fountain, which processes 166,238 cubic metres of water via four filtering station, each measuring seven metres by 35 metres and standing seven metres tall. They had to be designed to take up as little space as possible, while also keeping noise to a minimum so as not to upset customers at the numerous restaurants and cafes above.

9. On average, there are 13 Dubai Fountain shows daily at 30-minute intervals. Before the closure this year, they ran at 1pm and 1.30pm and 6pm to 11pm daily and 1.30pm to 2pm on Fridays.

Tourists take a boat ride at the Burj Khalifa lake in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National

10. The Dubai Fountain Lake Ride was launched in 2013. Guests can sign up for a tour of the Burj Lake and cruise in an abra next to the world’s tallest performing fountains. The ride, which can accommodate up to six people, takes around half an hour.

11. In 2015, a video of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, zip-lining above the Dubai Fountain was widely shared on social media. The 558-metre thrill ride was part of the XLine attraction being organised by XDubai, which runs action sports activities in the emirate.

12. In 2017, Emaar introduced a 272-metre floating platform next to the fountain that allowed visitors to get closer to the jets of water.

13. On January 16, 2018, K-pop group Exo popped out from Burj Khalifa to watch their hit song Power performed at Dubai Fountain. Scores of K-pop fans came to watch the spectacle and the hashtag #WelcometoDubaiExo quickly emerged and ranked as a top trending topic. More than 350,000 tweets were posted by their fans around the world.

K-pop group Exo in Dubai in 2018 for the Dubai Fountain performance of their song Power. Photo: Dubai Culture

14. That same year, Baby Shark, was added to the fountain's repertoire. The ridiculously catchy song about a shark family, produced by South Korean educational entertainment company Pinkfong, became the first YouTube video to surpass 10 billion views.

15. In 2019, Lady Gaga song I'll Never Love Again, from the Oscar-winning film A Star is Born, was added to the set list. At five minutes and 27 seconds, it became the longest song in the fountain's repertoire.

16. In 2022, Dubai Fountain ranked ninth on a list of the 10 most-viewed tourist landmarks globally on Google Maps Street View. The service shows 360 degree images of places around the world to help people virtually explore. Burj Khalifa topped the list that year while Burj Al Arab was No 7 and Dubai International Airport placed at No 10.