DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai opened the world’s tallest skyscraper yesterday in a blaze of fireworks, then added a final flourish: It renamed the half-mile-high tower Burj Khalifa for the head of neighboring Abu Dhabi, whose billions bailed out Dubai amid last year’s financial crisis.
Developers revealed yesterday that the gleaming glass-and-metal tower is 2,717 feet tall, exceeding its nearest rival, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, by about 50 feet.
The world’s biggest water fountain burst into life as a digital presentation listed the £925m building’s achievements, which include the highest occupied floor in the world – at 160 storey’s – and the highest swimming pool 260m in the air on floor 76.
The fountain outside cost a reported £133m and the 160 room hotel was designed by fashion designer Giorgio Armani and boasts a nightclub, two restaurants and a spa.
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