Venue
1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Dubai New Year's Eve Fireworks at Burj Khalifa guide
Burj Khalifa as launch pad and screen.
In short
Dubai's countdown on Thursday 31 December 2026 suits travellers who want a record-chasing show of fireworks, light display and fountains at the world's tallest building. Crowds run into the hundreds of thousands, so arrive early. Emaar confirms the format, prices and badge dates nearer the time, which matter for access to the viewing areas.
At midnight in Dubai, the tallest building on earth becomes both launch pad and screen. Fireworks race up and burst from its flanks while the lit-up glass skin plays a synchronised light show, the fountain at its foot dances, and a crowd counted in the hundreds of thousands fills the streets around it.
The developer behind the tower stages the countdown each year and treats it as a showpiece for the whole city. The display has collected world records, drawn crowds well over a million and reached billions of people online, and each edition tries to outdo the one before.
For visitors it is also a lesson in how Dubai celebrates. The party is huge yet orderly, organised zone by zone, and largely free of alcohol in public, so families with small children are as much a part of the crowd as groups of friends.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Where: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Venue: Burj Khalifa
Held: Every year
Type of event: Party Events, Live Events, Cultural Events
Nearest airport: Dubai (DXB) · 3 flight routes
Currency: UAE dirham (AED)
Time zone: UTC+4, no daylight saving
Language: Arabic; English widely spoken
Map
Close to the venue
- Burj Khalifa Attraction · 20 m
- Dubai Fountain Attraction · 240 m
- Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo Attraction · 420 m
- The Dubai Mall Attraction · 560 m
- Rove Downtown Hotel · 1.5 km
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Dubai's law on drinking in public
Drinking alcohol in public places is illegal in Dubai, and the streets and viewing areas of Downtown are public. Do not carry a drink out of a hotel bar into the street. Authorities treat drunk or disruptive behaviour seriously, and it can lead to jail or deportation. Dress with the crowd in mind: it is a family event, and modest clothing draws no attention.
Items banned at Burj Park
Burj Park turns away weapons, illegal substances, alcohol, glass containers, fireworks, pets, laser pointers, permanent markers, scissors, aerosol cans, loud noisemakers and oversized flags or signs. Professional recording equipment needs prior permission. Outside food and drink are not allowed either, except what you need for a baby. Hotels and restaurants with views apply their own bans, including confetti poppers and outside alcohol.
Keeping your access badge safe
For Burj Park, hotel, restaurant and residents' access, the badge is everything. Lost badges are not replaced, and a ticket whose badge has been collected will not be reissued. A badge also gives your car no priority once roads close, so it does not save you from the traffic. Keep it with your passport, and swap it for the wristband issued after validation before you head to the gate.
Toilets, first aid and lost children
Dubai Mall stays open as a base for the crowd, with multiple restrooms, first aid tents, prayer rooms and a lost and found near the promenade. Burj Park has separate men's and women's restrooms, a lost and found by the main entrance, and bean bags and picnic tables allocated on a first come, first served basis. In the free zones facilities are fewer, so use the mall before you settle. Photograph your children before leaving the hotel and agree where to meet if you are separated.
What happens on the day
- 26 to 30 December
Burj Park badges
Ticket holders swap bookings for badges at Dubai Mall or Dubai Hills Mall; nothing is issued on the day.
- Noon
Burj Park gates open
At the last edition.
- About 15:00 to 16:00
Roads close
Lower Financial Centre Road shut around 3pm, with wider closures from 4pm.
- From 17:00
Official programme
Dubai Fountain shows, facade light shows and screens across the public areas.
- Midnight
Fireworks
Fired from the tower itself, synchronised with the light show on its surface.
- 01:00 to 02:00
Car parks open
Cars could leave the Dubai Mall car parks only in this window.
Free viewing areas, mall terraces or Burj Park tickets
There are three ways to see the tower at midnight, and each needs a different kind of planning. The free route is one of the public viewing areas Emaar sets up across Downtown Dubai, or the waterfront outside Dubai Mall, which faces both the tower and the fountain. Neither is ticketed, so the price is time: arrive early and stay put. A colour-coded zone map, published by Emaar before the night, shows the routes and services for each area.
The second is a table. Restaurants and hotel terraces with a view of the tower take bookings, and they fill early. The third is Burj Park, the fenced, ticketed lawn at the tower's base, with entertainment, food trucks and children's workshops. For the countdown into 2026 adults paid Dh950 and children aged 5 to 12 paid Dh550, with under-fives free, and every ticket was sold online.
The Burj Khalifa's New Year fireworks records
Burj Khalifa opened on 4 January 2010, just days after a New Year, and it took only a few years for its midnight show to become a contest with itself. In 2013 Emaar fired 479,651 shells in six minutes. The following year the crowd topped a million and the tower wore more than 70,000 LED panels. Guinness World Records recognised the illuminated facade as the largest of its kind in 2015 and again in 2019.
Since then the numbers have moved from the sky to the audience. Emaar says the 2022 display was watched by about three billion people, and attendance in Downtown has reached a record 1.7 million. Live streams of the night have reached more than 2 billion viewers.
Each year carries a theme. The 2026 programme at Burj Park took on a Bollywood flavour, put together with Frontstage, which belongs to Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment. Underneath it all sits the 270 m Dubai Fountain, whose dancing jets give the hours before midnight their rhythm.
Getting there
Flying in
Dubai International has Red Line metro stations at Terminals 1 and 3, 15 to 20 minutes into the city. See Dhaka to Dubai or Bangkok to Dubai flights, and our UAE visa page.
By metro
Ride to Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall. A Silver Card costs 25 dirham, 19 of it fare credit. On the night, the station can close at short notice if crowds grow too dense; check RTA updates and travel early.
By taxi
Once roads shut, taxis can only drop you at the edge of the closed area.
Driving
Before 4pm, use the public bays on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard or the Zabeel and Fountain Views car parks. Burj Park guests later park at Al Wasl Club or Al Meydan and take the shuttle to Dubai Opera.
Where to stay during the festival
A hotel within reach of a Red Line station makes the badge errand and the night itself easier. Rooms and terraces facing the tower book out early.
Residents and apartment guests near the tower get badges through the developer's app, collected by owners or tenants.
Dubai
Jumeirah Burj Al Arab5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$1,600.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
7 Rooms available
Book Now
Dubai
Rove Downtown3-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$81.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Weather and what to pack
December is pleasant in Dubai. The airport averages a high of 26.5°C and a low of 17.4°C, with rain on three or four days in the month (NOAA 1991-2020 normals).
A long evening outdoors can turn cool; bring a light layer.
Worth packing
- A light layer for the night
- Water and snacks for a long wait
- A charged phone and power bank
- Your Burj Park badge, if you have one
Flights to Dubai for Dubai New Year's Eve Fireworks at Burj Khalifa
The busiest routes into Dubai (DXB).
FromTo DAC DXB DhakaDubai FromTo CGP DXB ChattogramDubai FromTo ZYL DXB SylhetDubai Available airlines1 airline- Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Car hire in Dubai
Airport transfer to Dubai New Year's Eve Fireworks at Burj Khalifa
Met at arrivals at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and driven door to door to Burj Khalifa.
- Dubai International Airport (DXB) → Burj Khalifa
- 18 km · 20 min
Restaurants and food in United Arab Emirates
Places to eat in United Arab Emirates before or after the celebrations.
Erth
Al Hosn, Al Hosn Cultural District, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:EmiratiModern Middle Eastern
- Dine-in
- Outdoor seating
At.mosphere
Level 122, Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:Modern EuropeanFrench-inspired
- Dine-in
- Bar
Ravi Restaurant
Shop 245, 9th Street, opposite Union Cooperative Society, near Al Satwa Roundabout, Al Satwa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:PakistaniPunjabi
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Outdoor seating
Al Ustad Special Kabab
Al Musalla Road, near Al Fahidi, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:IranianPersian
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Trèsind Studio
St. Regis Gardens, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cuisine:Progressive IndianTasting menu
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
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Need help?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
Yes. The dedicated public viewing areas around Downtown Dubai and the waterfront outside Dubai Mall cost nothing. Only Burj Park and the reserved hotel and restaurant tables are paid, and they need booking in advance.
Aim to be in place by early afternoon, before the road closures shown in the timeline above.
Residents register themselves and their guests through the developer's mobile app, and the building reception hands out the badges in the days just before New Year's Eve. Only owners or tenants can pick them up, so ask your host to arrange yours.
Yes. Emaar runs its own live stream with drone footage and several camera angles, a good alternative if you would rather avoid the crowds in Downtown.
Recently, yes. The last celebration ran for eight nights, until 7 January, with light and drone shows each evening and a parade of floats and glowing puppets. The organisers say nearer the time whether the next one follows suit.
The inquiry line is 800-EMAAR (80036227). Emaar also lists a separate number for security matters on its official New Year's Eve website.
Getting there
See the day timeline above. Expect the roads around Downtown to stay slow well into the early hours, so pack water and patience if you drive.
Booking
Attendance in Downtown Dubai has peaked at a record 1.7 million people, well above the one million originally expected for the area.
Yes. Burj Park is open to all ages and has children's workshops and dedicated family areas. At the last edition children aged 5 to 12 paid a reduced rate and under-fives entered free.
Prices & payment
Prices have risen sharply. For the 2023 countdown an adult pass was Dh300, including a meal and two drinks, and it still sold out. By the countdown into 2026 the adult price had reached Dh950.