Dubai’s Burj Al Arab in pink world record bid

One of the most iconic buildings in the world will be awash in pink this weekend as it attempts to set a world record.

The Burj Al Arab hotel was to join over 40 other buildings from Australia to the United States on Thursday, September 30, as part of a drive to commemorate breast cancer awareness month.

Together they are attempting to set a new Guiness World Record for the most landmarks illuminated for a cause in 24 hours in an initiative spearheaded by the Estée Lauder Companies.

Pink has become associated with breast cancer for several years now, and October has been commemorated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month since 1985.

The cosmetics group has been pinking up landmarks around the world for 11 years now, but this will be the first time it is attempting to set a record.

If successful, the UAE will be part of another world record, in addition to the nearly 70 it already holds, including the world’s tallest building (the Burj Khalifa), the world’s biggest candy store (Candylicious at Dubai Mall) and the longest time spent controlling a tennis ball using one’s feet (Mehdi Hobbe Darvish, January 2010).

This year’s record illumination begins in Australia with the illumination of Federation Square, the National Library of Australia, Old Parliament House, Parliament House, Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre, Black Mountain Tower, Brisbane City Hall and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Illumination events then continue around the world, culminating with the Empire State Building on Friday, where actress Elizabeth Hurley and American socialite Evelyn Lauder will flip a switch together to light up the building, the make-up major said.

Lauder, who is Senior Corporate Vice President of The Estée Lauder Companies, has been credited as one of the creators and popularisers of the pink ribbon as a symbol for awareness of breast cancer.

Along the way, other buildings that will turn pink for the night include the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai, Castle Schönbrunn in Vienna, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel in Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur Tower in the Malaysian capital, the Dam Square in Amsterdam and Niagra Falls in Ontario.

To qualify, a minimum of 24 pre-approved landmarks must be illuminated in pink for at least 10 minutes in a 24-hour period of time.

The sail-inspired all-suite hotel has blushed for breast cancer for nine years now and will also be lit in pink on October 1 and 31, while the sprawling Grand Hyatt, which takes part for the fifth time, will wear its colours from October 1 to 7.

Regionally, this is also the first time that Saudi Arabia joins the drive, with three prominent buildings in Riyadh taking to pink: Al Faisaliyah, Al Anoud, and the Al Mamlaka or Kingdom Centre building, an Estée Lauder spokesperson told Emirates24|7.

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