• The Guinness World Record for the world's largest drinking glass pyramid was broken in Dubai on December 30. All photos: Antonie Robertson / The National
    The Guinness World Record for the world's largest drinking glass pyramid was broken in Dubai on December 30. All photos: Antonie Robertson / The National
  • The record was set at Atlantis, The Palm, which partnered with Moet & Chandon and Dutch event management company Luuk Broos.
    The record was set at Atlantis, The Palm, which partnered with Moet & Chandon and Dutch event management company Luuk Broos.
  • The Luuk Broos team behind the tower pose with their creation.
    The Luuk Broos team behind the tower pose with their creation.
  • The tower is 8.23 metres tall and located at the resort's Asateer Tent.
    The tower is 8.23 metres tall and located at the resort's Asateer Tent.
  • It took a whopping 54,740 flute glasses to create the pyramid.
    It took a whopping 54,740 flute glasses to create the pyramid.
  • Luuk Broos events company comprises surgeons who were part of the delicate process.
    Luuk Broos events company comprises surgeons who were part of the delicate process.
  • The creators of the structure say while setting up the base is the most important part, the hard part is the last few metres on top.
    The creators of the structure say while setting up the base is the most important part, the hard part is the last few metres on top.
  • The world's largest drinking glass pyramid will be on display at Atlantis The Palm's annual New Year's Eve Gala Dinner.
    The world's largest drinking glass pyramid will be on display at Atlantis The Palm's annual New Year's Eve Gala Dinner.
  • It will remain in place until January 1.
    It will remain in place until January 1.
  • It took five days to build the drinking glass pyramid.
    It took five days to build the drinking glass pyramid.
  • The dismantling process requires glasses to be removed one by one, and usually takes about a day.
    The dismantling process requires glasses to be removed one by one, and usually takes about a day.
  • The glasses will be recycled by a local glassblower and transformed into glassware for Atlantis, The Palm’s rooms and suites.
    The glasses will be recycled by a local glassblower and transformed into glassware for Atlantis, The Palm’s rooms and suites.

Dubai hotel builds world’s largest drinking glass pyramid – in pictures


Janice Rodrigues
  • English
  • Arabic

With New Year’s Eve upon us, venues across the UAE are decked to the nines ready to celebrate. But one Dubai hotel in particular has gone all out to create a truly unique installation.

Atlantis, The Palm and Moet & Chandon partnered with Dutch events company Luuk Broos to build the world’s largest drinking glass pyramid.

The towering structure features 54,740 flutes and is 8.23 metres tall, breaking the previous Guinness World Record of 50,116 glasses, set in Madrid in 2017. It was unveiled in the resort’s Asateer Tent on Thursday.

Lotte Broos, event manager of Luuk Broos, tells The National that it took five days of non-stop work to create the structure.

“On December 29, we stayed until 3am to complete it,” she says. “For this tower, the stems of the glasses are actually a little higher than we’re used to and this made building it a lot harder to complete.”

So what does it take to build a tower of this magnitude? Broos says the success is about perfecting the base. “The measurements need to be perfect and from there, the only way is up. The hard part is the last few metres.”

It certainly helps that the family events management company includes three surgeons – “the only people with a steady enough hand to be able to complete the top of a tower this high”.

“Their skills are highly valuable as they have the focus and attention levels that are required for lengthy periods of time,” explains Broos. “At that height every millimetre counts.”

The glass tower will remain in place until Saturday, and will be on show at the resort’s annual New Year’s Eve gala which features a guest performance by singer Robbie Williams.

Following this, it will be meticulously dismantled.

“We built the tower using scaffolding, so we will put this back up and take each glass off one by one until they are all back in the box,” says Broos. “This usually takes about a day.”

In line with the hotel’s sustainability initiative, the 54,740 glasses will then be recycled by a local glassblower and transformed into glassware for Atlantis, The Palm’s rooms and suites.

Updated: December 31, 2021, 7:48 AM