The Expo 2020 Water Feature - in pictures

  • Time for a paddle in a giant water installation near the Al Wasl Plaza at Expo 2020 Dubai. Victor Besa / The National.
    Time for a paddle in a giant water installation near the Al Wasl Plaza at Expo 2020 Dubai. Victor Besa / The National.
  • But the stone walls can be tricky to climb. Victor Besa / The National.
    But the stone walls can be tricky to climb. Victor Besa / The National.
  • Visitors walk in the Expo 2020 Dubai Surreal waterfall area. Victor Besa / The National.
    Visitors walk in the Expo 2020 Dubai Surreal waterfall area. Victor Besa / The National.
  • Visitors wait for walls of water to tumble from four storeys high at Surreal, an installation created for Expo 2020 Dubai. Victor Besa / The National.
    Visitors wait for walls of water to tumble from four storeys high at Surreal, an installation created for Expo 2020 Dubai. Victor Besa / The National.
  • Surreal, a ring of waterfalls, has become a must-see feature of the world's fair. Victor Besa / The National.
    Surreal, a ring of waterfalls, has become a must-see feature of the world's fair. Victor Besa / The National.
  • A water feature at Expo 2020 Dubai. Waves crashing down the walls in the circular arena can help to keep visitors cool. James Langton / The National
    A water feature at Expo 2020 Dubai. Waves crashing down the walls in the circular arena can help to keep visitors cool. James Langton / The National
  • Mark Fuller, chief executive of Los Angeles firm WET, watches Surreal, a water feature designed by his company. AP Photo
    Mark Fuller, chief executive of Los Angeles firm WET, watches Surreal, a water feature designed by his company. AP Photo
  • Composer Ramin Djawadi wrote an original score, Surreal, for the Expo 2020 Dubai water feature. It was recorded with a live orchestra in London. Photo: WET
    Composer Ramin Djawadi wrote an original score, Surreal, for the Expo 2020 Dubai water feature. It was recorded with a live orchestra in London. Photo: WET
  • The music for the falls was created by Djawadi, a Game of Thrones composer and two-time Emmy award winner. Photo: WET
    The music for the falls was created by Djawadi, a Game of Thrones composer and two-time Emmy award winner. Photo: WET
  • Children enjoy the Expo 2020 Dubai water feature. Victor Besa / The National.
    Children enjoy the Expo 2020 Dubai water feature. Victor Besa / The National.
  • The walls are streaked with colour at night. Photo: WET
    The walls are streaked with colour at night. Photo: WET
  • The movement of the waves is choreographed to orchestral music specially recorded for the Expo 2020 Dubai installation. Photo: WET
    The movement of the waves is choreographed to orchestral music specially recorded for the Expo 2020 Dubai installation. Photo: WET
  • The falls were designed by WET, a Los Angeles company that created the Burj Khalifa fountains. Photo: WET
    The falls were designed by WET, a Los Angeles company that created the Burj Khalifa fountains. Photo: WET
  • Stone spires at the centre of the water ring shoot flames out at night. Photo: WET
    Stone spires at the centre of the water ring shoot flames out at night. Photo: WET
  • A view of the new water feature by night. Photo: WET
    A view of the new water feature by night. Photo: WET
  • The walls are streaked with colour at night. Photo: WET
    The walls are streaked with colour at night. Photo: WET
  • Viewing platforms give spectators a sense of the waterfalls, which plunge four storeys. Photo: WET
    Viewing platforms give spectators a sense of the waterfalls, which plunge four storeys. Photo: WET
  • Water and fire are two elements at the heart of the Surreal installation at Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: WET
    Water and fire are two elements at the heart of the Surreal installation at Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: WET
  • Early sketches show how the artists conceptualised the water installation at Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: WET
    Early sketches show how the artists conceptualised the water installation at Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: WET
  • Full-size models were built from wood, much like in a movie set, at WET's testing laboratory in California. Photo: WET
    Full-size models were built from wood, much like in a movie set, at WET's testing laboratory in California. Photo: WET
  • The models helped designers to tell which changes needed to be made to the structure. Photo: WET
    The models helped designers to tell which changes needed to be made to the structure. Photo: WET
  • The wood frame of one model. Photo: WET
    The wood frame of one model. Photo: WET