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SHOTLIST January 3, 2010 1. Aerial of Burj Dubai tower January 4, 2010 2. Tilt down from top of Burj Dubai to base 3. Mid of media scrum around Emaar Properties Chairman Mohamed Alabbar 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar Properties Chairman: "The challenge of course is, you know, that you are using construction methods design engineering, you are going to territories that nobody have been there before, so you believe in the technology, you believe in the wisdom of the people, in the brilliance, but at the end of the day it has to talk, at the end of the day it has to be done right. So that was really one challenge, the other challenge was, will you be able to build this building and still finish it in the best quality available to man at that time. Keep in mind that it is the highest, it is the biggest, but will human been really enjoy this building?" 5. Various of model of Burj Dubai 6. Various of view of city from 124th floor of Burj Dubai 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar Properties Chairman: "First of all it brings the city together to the global two, three cities in the world. But I think it is also, we all like to be remembered in our marketing strategies. So therefore it really puts Dubai on the map as a city who just arrived to the helm of global city and worldly city. 8. Various of At The Top shop on 124th floor of Burj Dubai 9. Pan right of lake, other towers and residential area in front of Burj Dubai 10. Wide of Burj Dubai''s upper levels 11. Close of top floors of Burj Dubai January 3, 2010 12. Aerial of Dubai with Burj Dubai surrounded by other skyscrapers STORYLINE Dubai prepared to inaugurate the world''s tallest skyscraper on Monday, hoping to shift international attention away from the Gulf emirate''s deep financial crisis and rekindle the optimism that fuelled its turbo-charged growth. Crews rushed to complete the final preparations for the official opening of the more than 160-storey Burj Dubai. The exact final height of the tower has not been released, with the developer Emaar Properties saying only that the spire stands more than 800 yards (metres) tall. Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of developer Emaar, said Dubai''s ruler will announce the height at the evening inauguration ceremony. Developer Emaar said it cost about $1.5 billion (b) US dollars (1.04 billion (b) euros) to build the tapering metal-and-glass spire billed as a "vertical city" of luxury apartments and offices. It boasts four swimming pools, a private library and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani. Dubai''s ruler will open the skyscraper with a fireworks display and light show in a celebration that also marks four years since his ascension to power. Security is expected to be tight with more than 1,000 security personnel including plainclothes police and sharpshooters, local media reported. Cleaning crews were busy scrubbing windows and sweeping the plaza at the tower''s base just hours before festivities began. The Burj Dubai "really puts Dubai on the map as a city who just arrived," said Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties.. He said that in building the tower, "you are using construction methods, design, engineering, you are going to territories that nobody have ever been there before." Burj Dubai opens in the midst of a severe financial crisis in the city-state, one of seven tiny sheikdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates. Dubai was little more than a sleepy fishing village a generation ago but it boomed into the Middle East''s commercial hub over the past two decades on the back of business-friendly trading policies, relative security, and vast amounts of overseas investment. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3c3fc5b642f80cf0df0753e0a67e474f Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork