The New Year's fireworks display at Taipei 101 will be the largest ever, lasting 188 seconds with a color theme of gold and silver, signifying a prosperous future and a robust economy, representatives from Taipei 101 said yesterday.
When the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, a total of 12,000 rounds of fireworks will be launched and reach heights of 500m, in contrast with 9,000 rounds in last year's fireworks display, said Michael Liu (劉家豪), an assistant vice president at Taipei 101.
Preparations for the show are taking place under a tight schedule but will be completed on Friday for a circuit test, he said.
The slogan to be illuminated on the building remains a mystery, however. Liu said he does not want to spoil the surprise.
Liu said the Ministry of Transportation and Communications' Tourism Bureau had won the right -- with an NT$21 million bid -- to stage this year's fireworks display under the theme "golden and spectacular 2008."
He said that in addition to the NT$20 million received from the sponsored companies, the broadcasting fees from NHK and the BBC reached NT$50 million in the last display.
The revenues expected from the fireworks show this year from international broadcasters are still being calculated, he said.
The Taipei 101 Mall, including the food court, grocery store in the basement as well as the restaurants on the 4th floor, will extend their business hours to 2am on Jan. 1 to accommodate the expected crowd.
Taipei 101 is the world's tallest building, but will soon be eclipsed by the Dubai Tower when it is completed late next year.
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