Dubai hosts most expensive launch party ever

Dubai's new luxury resort, Atlantis, went all out at its launch event throwing a 30 million dollar party.

The event was held at the manmade Palm Jumeirah island in the Persian Gulf and over 2,000 attended. Some of the celebrities present included Robert de Niro, Janet JacksonJanet Jackson, Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan and the Duchess of York. Delicacies such as lobster and vintage champagne were consumed in abundance. Such an occasion called for heavy security and the result was a 2 mile exclusion zone around the festivities.

Kylie MinogueKylie Minogue performed for the audience and reported bagged over 3 million dollars for her efforts. But her vocals paled in comparison to the pyrotechnics that followed. One million fireworks dwarfed recent efforts at the Beijing Olympics. Organizers insists the lights could be seen from space.

The Atlantis took over 2 years to build and has consumed over 2 billion dollars. It has 1,539 rooms on offer.

You would think luxury would take a back seat during an economic recession. But organizers said funding for this lavish event had been earmarked over a year in advance. Costs were somewhat controlled by insisting guests use their own transport rather than flying them all in on private jets. Most of all, the opening of the Atlantis was a once in a lifetime event and this was the only way to do it justice.

But in many ways, such opulence is just a reminder of how much wealth is concentrated in a few oily hands in the Middle East. There has to be better use of such money no?