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THE WORLD'S LARGEST FIREWORKS DISPLAY

A dazzling array of colours lit up the sky over Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait, on the night of November 10, 2012.

The fireworks display was for Kuwait's Golden Jubilee - the 50th anniversary of the day when the late emir Sheikh Abdullah al-Salem al-Sabah announced that Kuwait had become the first Arab state in the Gulf to issue a constitution and have a parliament, establishing a democratic government instead of a sheikhdom.

^{One thousand two hundred eighty nine every minute.}

A staggering 1,289 fireworks were launched every minute, for a total of 77,282 over the period of an hour.

^{High intensity lasers were placed around the city to add to the display, and a French team of jet planes with wingtips aflame made an appearance. Several of the major buildings were lit up with a covering of the equivalent of giant sparklers, so the fire rained down from their sides.}

A representative from Gueness Records was present to document the event and announced that this was officially the largest fireworks display ever conducted, and that it would be included in the Guiness Book of World Records.

Although 25 different companies and organizations had volunteered services and personnel, and more than a thousand young Kuwaitis had given voluntary service to help with the celebration, the fireworks display still cost 4,568,453.50 Kuwaiti dinars (£10 million British pounds / 12,510,000 Euros / $15,700,000 U.S. dollars),

^{Tens of thousands of people watched the fireworks display across the river
from it, while an estimated hundred thousand more watched from other parts of the city.}
A short video (1 minute 48 seconds) is provided here.

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If you got impressions for which this feedback is insufficient, more information,
pictures and videos can be found at the following web sites:

Arab Times On Line (has the hour-long video)
Guinness World Records account of the event
The Daily Mail Web Site
Amusing Planet
Al-Diwan Al-Amiri (Kuwaiti government history)