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.

MATCH INFO

Day 1 at Mount Maunganui

England 241-4

Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28

New Zealand 

Yet to bat

Meydan race card

6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m​​​​​​​
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m​​​​​​​
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m​​​​​​​
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs

Common to all models unless otherwise stated

Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi

0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)

Power: 276hp

Torque: 392Nm

Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD

Price: TBC

THE BIO

Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist

Age: 78

Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”

Hobbies: his work  - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”

Other hobbies: football

Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club

 

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

HOSTS

T20 WORLD CUP 

2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland 

ODI WORLD CUP 

2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh 

CHAMPIONS TROPHY 

2025: Pakistan; 2029: India  

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL

Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
%3Cp%3EBy%202030%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%20aims%20to%20achieve%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2039.3%20million%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20nearly%2064%25%20up%20from%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20Dh90%20billion%20contribution%20to%20GDP%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2084%25%20more%20than%20Dh49%20billion%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20178%2C000%20new%20jobs%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20bringing%20the%20total%20to%20about%20366%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2052%2C000%20hotel%20rooms%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20up%2053%25%20from%2034%2C000%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%207.2%20million%20international%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20almost%2090%25%20higher%20compared%20to%202023's%203.8%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%203.9%20international%20overnight%20hotel%20stays%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2022%25%20more%20from%203.2%20nights%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai World Cup Carnival card

6.30pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m

8.15pm: Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m

8.50pm: Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

9.25pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m

The National selections

6.30pm: Final Song

7.05pm: Pocket Dynamo

7.40pm: Dubai Icon

8.15pm: Dubai Legacy

8.50pm: Drafted

9.25pm: Lucius Tiberius

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

UAE Team Emirates

Valerio Conti (ITA)
Alessandro Covi (ITA)
Joe Dombrowski (USA)
Davide Formolo (ITA)
Fernando Gaviria (COL)
Sebastian Molano (COL)
Maximiliano Richeze (ARG)
Diego Ulissi (ITAS)

LA LIGA FIXTURES

Friday (UAE kick-off times)

Real Sociedad v Leganes (midnight)

Saturday

Alaves v Real Valladolid (4pm)

Valencia v Granada (7pm)

Eibar v Real Madrid (9.30pm)

Barcelona v Celta Vigo (midnight)

Sunday

Real Mallorca v Villarreal (3pm)

Athletic Bilbao v Levante (5pm)

Atletico Madrid v Espanyol (7pm)

Getafe v Osasuna (9.30pm)

Real Betis v Sevilla (midnight)

Updated: December 31, 2021, 7:48 AM