Lindsay Lohan, Mischa Barton, Mary-Kate Olsen and about 1,997 other celebs made their way out to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for the official launch extravaganza for the new £1 billion luxury resort the Atlantis Palm on Palm Jumeirah Island earlier this week. The party itself cost £20 million and it really showed. Here are a few pics of some of the red carpet arrivals from the Atlantis Palm launch party and some deets on the party itself:
The credit crunch may be biting … but there was little sign of parsimony in Dubai [Thursday] night. The world’s rich and famous gathered for the most expensive private party ever thrown – costing some £20 million – to open Atlantis Palm Jumeirah, a £1 billion resort on a man-made island shaped like a palm tree in the Persian Gulf. Two thousand film stars, popstars, supermodels and billionaires were flown in from around the world for the all-expenses paid one-night party with many of them staying for four days. The highlight last night was a one-off gig by Kylie Minogue and her 113-strong dance troupe on the beach. Apart from getting a free holiday, Miss Minogue was also paid £1.5million for a 10-song 45-minute medley of her hits – which works out at some £33,333 a minute …
The gig was followed at midnight local time by a 1million-rocket firework display with 100 computer-guided rockets costing £7million which was seven times bigger than the largest display to date – for the Beijing Olympics …
They were no ordinary fireworks of course – each one being a radio-controlled 27-inch shell with an on-board microcomputer to direct its flight. The display, which was visible from space, was also filmed by a squadron of helicopters hovering at 12,000ft and beamed on giant TV HD screens on the beach. Miss Minogue, 40, arrived at the lavish party dressed in a pink and black floral chiffon gown with flowing train and her blonde hair in a curly short hairdo. Speaking on Sky News, just two hours before she was due to go on stage, an excited Kylie said: “It’s staggering. I guess more is more here and they have done a great job. My room’s very nice. It’s a different set list to the tour I’m doing at the moment. It’s an edited show especially for tonight.” The 40-year-old star remained tight-lipped about how much she was earning for her set, she said: “I can’t tell you how much pocket money I get, it goes straight in my piggy bank.” Speaking about the hotel’s potential, she added: “I think there’s a lot of people who love this kind of thing you get sun and everything you could wish for. My crew and dancers have been having a great time.” Guests included filmstars such as Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron, Denzil Washington, Mischa Barton and Lindsay Lohan, supermodels Agyness Deyn, Petra Nemcova and Yasmin Le Bon, musicans Janet Jackson, Lily Allen and Shirley Bassey, sports legends like Michael Jordan and Boris Becker and some local royalty – the Royal Family of Dubai … Oprah Winfrey bagged the most exclusive £25,000-a-night suite high up on a bridge suspended between the resort’s two towers. Yet when she pulled out, the scramble for the suite was eventually won a man many Britons may have never heard of – Shahrukh Khan – who is apparently the ‘Tom Cruise of Bollywood’ and as such the most famous filmstar in Middle East. Robert De Niro – a partner in the Nobu restaurant chain which has a site in the resort – had to make do with a £15,000 presidential suite. That left filmstars Lindsay Lohan and Charlize Theron with £10,000 a night Lost Chambers suites submerged alongside one of the world’s largest aquariums in the depths of the Atlantis resort, each with a truly jaw-dropping bedroom view of 65,000 sharks, rays and fish. No one paid for an air ticket to get there. The travel bill alone was estimated to be £3 million. Yesterday, the starry crowd spent the day riding camels, stroking dolphins and trying out the resort’s giant waterpark. A cocktail reception last night was followed by dinner on the beach, Miss Minogue’s show and they the fireworks. Though Dubai is mainly a ‘dry’ country, there was not much evidence of that at the soiree with some 1,000 bottles of Veuvre Cliquot champagne being thrown back. All of that drink was presumably needed to wash down the 1.7 metric tonnes of lobster that was eaten, 4,000 oysters, 3,000 kilos of smoked salmon and 5,000 portions of the best sushi – all prepared by 500 chefs and served by 1,000 waiters.
Ye gods! Talk about excess. It never ceases to amaze me how economic strain can take its toll on so many people thruout the world and, yet, celebs never seem to feel the pinch. Forget the millions of starving and dying people suffering each and every day, the rich and powerful live extravagant lives that most people can’t even dream of. It really sounds like a spectacular event but the amount of excess is pretty staggering. I’m not hating, I’m just … boggled. Yeah.
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