A bejewelled Christmas tree worth more than 11 million dollars was erected at Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE in celebration of Christmas. While the tree itself costs 10 million dollars, the jewellery which it holds has a value over 11 million dollars. This jewellery includes diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones as reported by the owner of Style Gallery, the shop which provided the jewellery. When the general manager of the hotel was asked whether such an action would offend the citizens (since the majority of them are Muslims), he denied that and said that the UAE is a very liberal country. He also said that this event is most likely going to enter the Guinness World Records, as the hotel seeks to contact the organisation to inform them of it.



Source: Yahoo! News

As much as I like Christmas, yet I find that erecting such an expensive tree is a waste. Celebrating Christmas here always happens, and that is a normal thing, but when they are facing a very bad economical situation, they shouldn't just waste their money, but erect a less expensive tree.
Honestly, UAE just like to show-off more than it is needed.

No picture?

Also find it strange since you guys don't seem to care much for the holiday.

As Spirit said that tree is a waste. Feed the poor or something. That would bring more joy to thousands more people considering Christmas is in 9 days.

I agree with SK. Why waste money on curing diseases when you can build pretty Christmas trees?

Wow! That is one expensive Christmas Tree! That is really cool and will probably make it in the Guiness Book of World Records.

Nice tree, but that's a lot of money for a huge tree that is use only once before they decide to burn it...

That's quite a waste of money. They should have spent that money on something more useful, or at least something that will last longer. And how does that tree cost 10 Million dollars?

Unless they intend on making this thing last, like the Rockefeller Plaza's tree, then this thing's a waste of precious money.

Just wanted to say thanks for all of you agreeing with me and others who had the same thoughts on this thread. It's just another good display of how thoughtful the community at VR is. <3

Oh look! It seems that the management in Abu Dhabi listened to us and regretted what the hotel had done. They even tried to distance themselves away from the event, saying that the tree was created by a hotel-based jeweler, and that the hotel was only a place for exhibiting the tree. The hotel's management also confessed that they had taken the holiday's spirit too far by this, saying that they overloaded the tree excessively with such expensive decorations.