New Year celebrations in UAE: Abu Dhabi welcomes 2024 with 40-minute fireworks

Abu Dhabi ushered in the New Year with a spectacular and record-breaking display of fireworks and drones at the Sheikh Zayed Festival on Monday.

The festivities kicked off with an astonishing 30-minute drone show featuring an impressive 5,000 UAVs, followed by a breathtaking 40-minute fireworks extravaganza that left visitors in awe.

Throngs of residents from across the UAE flocked to the Festival to partake in the New Year celebrations. The enthusiasm was palpable as people arrived well before Monday's scheduled 4 pm opening time. Such was the overwhelming response that the authorities had to close the gates more than an hour before the start of the festivities due to reaching maximum capacity.

Khadjia Ahmed, a Bangladeshi national, expressed her delight, saying, "It was an amazing fireworks display. I never saw a firework which lasted so long. I just loved it. This is the best fireworks display I've ever watched." Ahmed even went on to capture a 28-minute fireworks video, but her mobile phone ran out of space due to the extended duration of the mesmerising show.

• Dubai rings in New Year with awe-inspiring fireworks and overflowing tourists