Dream Island will be one of the four Al Marjan Islands in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. Image: Arabian Business
One way to look at Ibiza is a bunch of really big clubs. So all you need to do to reproduce it is build some even bigger clubs…right?
This appears to be the viewpoint of the rulers of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, who plan to build an artificial island dedicated to 24/7 partying.
From LessThanThree:
Thanks to a newly constructed man-made island in the Arabian Gulf, Dubai will have a 24-hour, non-stop party scene that looks to rival the likes of Ibiza and Vegas.
Tentatively titled Dream Island, the party complex, which is dedicated exclusively for partying, will consist of two “mega clubs,” four beach clubs, and five hotels. The four-million square foot island will be able to host over 20,000 people at any given time and will include over 100 different restaurants. No personal licenses will be required for the purchase of alcohol.
[Read more: Dubai To Construct ‘New Ibiza’ With Man-Made Party Island]
Of course, this viewpoint overlooks the 40,000+ ecstasy pills a day fuelling the hedonism in Ibiza, or the cocaine and ketamine being sold on the beach in broad daylight by girls in skimpy bikinis.
Technically, the island is in Ras Al Khaimah. Of the 7 Emirates that constitute the UAE, it is known particularly for its beaches – the beaches of the other Emirates having suffered tremendously over the last couple of decades, under the impact of the world’s biggest construction boom.
The UAE certainly has the money, and the engineering nous, to pull the construction of this island off. But will the world’s clubbers be drawn to a place where you can get the death penalty for drugs, 6 months jail for holding hands with a girl who you’re not married to, a year in prison for kissing?
According to the Daily Mail, the Sheikhs have their eyes set on drawing Burners. To them, the Burning Man Festival is a prize, something they can “win” for their nation like a Formula One race or the America’s Cup.
Sales and marketing director George Saad said: ‘We’re trying to make it the new Ibiza – a mini Ibiza dedicated solely to partying.
‘People will be able to come here, stay in the hotel party at clubs on the beach, anything in the world you can do.
‘And we are trying to attract festivals to come here – like Burning Man.’
If they build it, will we come?
From the Daily Mail:
It looks more Miami than Ibiza
Wet t-shirts in an Islamic country? Will there be foam parties?
The developers of the third of four islands that make up Al Marjan are looking to attract £3.2billion of investment. The party town is on show and seeking British investors at the Dubai Property Show, in Kensington Olympia, this weekend…
The 4 million square foot island will feature no homes and will only be open to visitors and residents of the neighbouring islands. The island was built in 2013 and development to make it into a clubber’s paradise is expect to be finished by 2018.
The four islands of Al Marjan stretch nearly three miles out into the sea and cover an area of 2.7 million square metres.
[Read the full story at the Daily Mail]
You can fly direct from the US to the UAE from 6 different cities, it takes 12 hours from New York and 16 hours from San Francisco.
An island solely devoted to partying has some appeal. Still, they’re going to have to try pretty hard to compete with this:
Sunset in Ibiza. Image: Trey Ratcliff/Flickr (Creative Commons)
