Burj Khalifa lights up with coronavirus donations

DUBAI: World’s tallest building Burj Khalifa will light up to represent each donation made to assist coronavirus-hit communities across the United Arab Emirates.

The donations raised on the first day will help provide 180,000 meals for individuals and families affected by the coronavirus pandemic, as part of an initiative that aims to illuminate Burj Khalifa’s 1.2 million lights in a message of hope and solidarity to the world.

Launched as part of the ’10 million meals’ campaign, the ‘World’s Tallest Donation Box’ allows companies, entities and the public to purchase lights of Burj Khalifa, for as little as Dh10 each, to collectively donate 1.2 million meals or food parcels to low-income individuals and families in the UAE.

For each 10-dirham donation, one of the building’s 1.2 million LED lights will be illuminated — each representing a meal. The initiative aims to reflect social solidarity and cohesion of the UAE’s diverse society to bring much-needed relief to coronavirus-hit communities across the country.

The ‘World’s Tallest Donation Box’ was launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), in collaboration with Burj Khalifa, to provide 1.2 million meals to the vulnerable amid the pandemic.

Burj Khalifa lights up to help light up the lives of the most affected by the global pandemic. Together the impossible is possible. Visit https://t.co/rMcq2trKmR to donate. #1Light1Meal #WorldsTallestDonationBox@MBRInitiatives pic.twitter.com/c1vkI0e9Hm

— Burj Khalifa (@BurjKhalifa) May 3, 2020

The skyscraper regularly features displays of solidarity with crisis-stricken countries – for Australia when bushfires ravaged parts of the country, and for China and Italy when they were hit hard by the COVID-19 disease.

“Representing donations as lights beaming on Burj Khalifa reflects the hope that small acts of kindness will bring to less fortunate communities as the country continues its battle against the pandemic,” Dubai’s media office said in a statement. “They will see the impact of their contributions on the facade of the world’s tallest building.”

Last week, the UAE eased lockdown restrictions that were put in place to curb the spread of the disease. Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, had imposed a total curfew.

The UAE has so far reported more than 14,000 infections, including 126 deaths. It has the second-highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia.