The Dubai Palm, a seven-year project that reclaimed land from the Persian Gulf and doubled the length of Dubai's shoreline was completed earlier this year. This past week, a spectacular, star-studded gala officially opened the development, which features luxury homes, resorts, villa, and shopping centers.



The opening party took place at Atlantis: The Palm, a resort owned by the same company that owns the famous Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.

The event was filled with stars from the US and around the world. Both Michael Jordan and Oprah were on hand, as were Robert De Niro and Janet Jackson. Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra and Australian singer Kylie Minogue were among the performers.

Dubai has made a habit of adding to its collection of ?world's biggest.? They can now add world's biggest fireworks display to the list. The Palm's opening featured more than 100,000 pieces of pyrotechnics. That number even puts Beijing's Olympic fireworks display to shame.

The Dubai Palm is actually shaped like a giant palm. Yes, that's right. It is a man-made island shaped like a tree. A Dutch engineering firm found a way to dredge the sand from the sea and spray it into the desired area to create the unique shape.

The villas and houses on the island have price tags well into the millions. The resorts are of the 5-star variety, with some even making up a six or seven star system because they think the 5-star ranking does not do them justice. The Palm is definitely a place for the rich and famous to play. However, there might be space for regular tourists somewhere on the giant island. The island is capable of holding more than 1 million people. It is the largest man-made island in the world. There will be plenty of shopping and cultural sites on the island as well.