I made a huge mistake yesterday by heading to Burj Khalifa for the new year celebrations. The crap that my self and my cousin had to go through was beyond imagination. We thought we’d “pass by”, watch the fireworks then do something else, Instead, we got stock there for 6 hours.
First, the metro coming from Discovery Gardens decided not to stop at the burj “due to over-crowding”. We got off at DIFC and walked all the way to the burj, there were no cabs, and even if there was, traffic wasn’t moving.
When we entered the mall, we realized the “over-crowding”. I remembered the movie Resident Evil. Some one told me, she heard on the news that in the area there was 600,000 people. I don’t doubt it. People were pushing each other, women and children crying, cars literally sank in people. I really hope that there wasn’t a situation where medics had to reach there.
When the stupid show finished (around 7 mins only), we walked back for 45 mins to the DIFC metro station. there was so much people, we couldn’t even enter the place. So we walked again for another 20 mins to the Emirates Towers station. There was a huge crowd there, but not as much as the first one so we managed to enter the station.
Inside, a group of 500 or so literally started a riot against the police. The police weren’t letting any one go beyond the check in point towards the metros because the metros towards Rashidya were packed. People for some reason couldn’t comprehend that so they started screaming together and pushing the police.
The metro heading to the gardens wasn’t busy at all, but the police couldn’t let us in because the gates were closed because of the crowd, and if they open the gates for those heading to the gardens, who are very few, the crazy crowd would break in. What happened? I managed to get to the barrier where the police are standing, I looked at the officer and told him that I’m going to jump over the barrier, I told him that so he won’t arrest me. He heard me, and turned his head away. I shouted saying, “Look at me, I’m climbing, I’m jumping”. He didn’t say anything. So I did it along with my cousin. We jumped, every one was looking at us in shock, we took the stairs and disappeared.
Our police here in Dubai is NOT prepared to deal with such huge crowds, riots or demonstrations. The city was a mess. I don’t usually go out on New Year’s, I don’t think I will ever go out again, not to a public place at least.
Enjoy the fireworks below. Happy 2011.
18 comments:
Sorry you had to go through this ordeal. I typically go to Jumeirah and lark some blocks away in the villas and walk so I don't get stuck in traffic. This year we went over to the creek side against all traffic andnhad a nice dinner and watch the stupid fireworks from afar. I can't believe it was a 3 minute show. What a disaster. The guys at Burj al Arab did a better job.
Anyway. Happy new year bro!
Well,elhamdillah 3assalameh,and happy new year :)
:)i completely agree on the lack of preparedness on behalf of the police and the RTA.
An event of this magnitude is challenging for any place..let alone a smaller city like Dubai.
However its unacceptable that every time there is a big event like a concert or a show that everything around it collapses.
Either the RTA/Dubai mall should have made alternate arrangements of transport and parking or cordoned off the area from private traffic for a 2-3 km area and made sure everything was based on public transit like the metro and bus.
Its worth noting that every single concert in Abu Dhabi and the Yas Marina concert has a strikingly better standards of organization.
We thought about taking the metro to the Burj Khalifa but eventually decided on going there by car. We went early and watched 2 movies to kill time. To say that the length of the bloody fireworks is disappointing is an understatement. The only good thing about it is that we were out of the place in 30 mins max. There wasn't a lot of traffic going to International City via Ras Al Khor rd.
Plus I also got to see you and your cousin. ;-) I'm sorry you had to go through a 6 hour ordeal just to get home. I wouldn't be going anywhere near such crowds ever again.
P.S. Jumping over the barrier? That's gangsta yo! ;-)
Was disappointing indeed, I opted to stay in and chill, spent the few hours before midnight reading tweets about nightmarish traffic on SZR. Right before midnight went to my rooftop to take pictures from afar expecting something out of this world, something that people in the 'cool' cities like Sydney would look at and drop their jaws, but it had fail written all over it. I feel bad for people that had plans after wards and I really hope that nobody got hurt or stuck on their way to better things (Work, catching a flight or whatever).
Dubai still has a lot to learn when it comes to massive events, and the city has to learn that the days of creating a big PR hype and expecting people to buy it doesn't work anymore. I agree with Kinan, the Burj Al Arab fireworks were actually rather impressive. Here are some shots I took, expected to fill up the album with Burj Khalifa shots, ended up posting like a couple instead and posting many, many pictures of Burj Al Arab :) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Omography/138181219571276
I really don't know who to blame for overcrowding -- the city or the silly people who continue walking further and further into the mess without thinking about the consequences of doing so. Crowdsourcing assumes that crowds are smart. But as we see, it is sometimes the opposite case.
I wonder if this experience would teach us and Dubai anything. Dubai 2020 Olympics is a dream and it may not be realized in case such an organization was not that organized!
Glad-fully I chose to stay home. If they used 1 million dollars from the Christmas tree in AD on bringing more police, it would've been money well invested.
Thankfully you made it home safely!
Here's to a new, less crowded year!
It was a complete failure in the overall planning of the event,there was no coordination and the crowd was relentless.....the much hyped firework didnt meet our expectations......instead firework at burj al arab were much better
Having watched the traffic mayhem on SZR I was glad I had decided to stay at home. By the end of the fireworks I was doubly glad as I would have felt hard done by given the show. Next year I will walk down to Jumeirah Beach and watch the hotel fireworks.
interesting i take back what i said about wish i was there to see those fireworks! Glad i wasnt :S
Reading you attitude and behavior in that situation, especially at the metro, one can only realize the level of education and intelligentsia that you have. You wanted probably to get there 10min before, enjoy the fireworks and get back in your bed in the next 10 min. You pretend to be an intelligent person, … then you should know better! If you don’t like crowded places, and you don’t want get in this kind of situation, then it’s very simple, … don’t go there, … nobody forced you especially during the most advertised public event of the year . But in stead, the only think you know to do its to complain, like a moron. If you would not be such a smart ass and just read the news papers , plenty of the police warnings were notified to get there in time, the info regarding the crowed that was expected to be on site and the fact that from certain hours, certain areas around Burj Khalifa would be blocked for your own safety .In addition the amount of preparation and logistic that was in place for such a unique event was commendable considering that it went smooth and without any glitch. But what can you expect from such ignorant people like you!!!? It was organized well enough to accommodate 600000 people and not have a single incident, injury or worst. It was a public event, for everybody, even for workers who earn 600 Dhs/m and not just for “highly educated” people like you. Next time book a table at Armani or The Address. For your info, no firework for New Years Eve in the world last more then 4 min. One thing I regret, … that you had not been arrested for your “bravery” and display of “maturity” at the metro. What a sad life you have.
Hello Believer, Thank you for your comment. just to clarify for other readers, the xmas tree in Abu Dhabi wasn't set up by any government entity. It was put together by the owner of the jewelry store in the hotel, as a PR stunt for his store. and 3 or 4 days after putting it up he took off the jewelry back into his store due to complaints. Your comment about taking money from the xmas tree tells me you think that the tree was something supported by abu dhabi itself :). Just wanted to clarify that.
Hello Omar, thank you for sharing your photography. I'm now the latest fan of your page :)
Ms. Antizaher. You really put some effort into your comment and I'm not sure why. There was no attitude in my blog, it was a simple reflection of what happened with us. I've been to events before, I was there at the opening of Burj Khalifa and it wasn't like that at all. I've also been to concerts to Yas, packed like crazy, but no one was pushing any one. The objective of my blog was not to attack anyone, it was just to tell people what happened with us. that's all. I'm not sure what is it in my blog that you took very personal.
Have a great day.
Thanks for posting this. It made me appreciate our decision NOT to go to the chaotic site more and more. I can't imagine how it must be for parents with small children. It looks terrible for the adults, how much more for the children!
And with the short firework show, it's not even worth it.
My family spent welcomed the New Year in the comfort of our home, just like every year. Just like how we always want it to be. Boring for some but we don't like to spend the first day of the year outside, hungry and tired.
Excellent post Zaher. Nice to see you had the guts to pull off jumping over the barrier in front of the police officer. :)
On a more serious note, I completely agree with you, but we have to look at this before we place the blame on the police/RTA. I put the blame on the lack of coordination between Emaar and the correct authorities to ensure the best of preparations are available. There are many events that take place in Dubai that see thousands of guests get in and out without the complete chaos that the Burj Khalifa area witnessed on New Years Eve. The RTA could of been informed to ensure the best transportation preparations could be prepared and the police to secure/usher the traffic through the area. I feel sorry for everyone who got stuck there. Personally I was at a friend's place on the palm and we had a view of both the Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa firework display. Burj Al Arab did one three times the length in time and far more entertaining.
Anyway... HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!! :)
posting this link I came across today:
http://ftoom887.blogspot.com/2011/01/fwd-dubai-metro-on-new-years-eve.html?spref=tw
it shows crazy pictures from the event.
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