Emaar Reopens Burj Khalifa Open Call, Inviting Artists Worldwide to Light Up the World's Tallest Building

Global for the First Time

The most significant change from the previous edition is who can enter. The 2025 call was restricted to UAE residents; this year's edition is open to artists "from the UAE and around the world," a shift that considerably widens the pool of eligible talent and signals Emaar's ambition to position the Open Call as an international platform rather than a domestic showcase.

Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar, framed the initiative in characteristically expansive terms when the format first launched, describing Burj Khalifa as more than an engineering feat — a canvas open to "every dreamer, artist, and innovator" with a story to contribute to the tower's own.

No Cash Prize This Year — Exposure Is the Offer

Where the 2025 edition carried a headline AED 100,000 prize for the winning designer, this year's call is notably silent on cash. Under the official terms, the stated prize is the projection of the winning design, in whole or in part, on the Burj Khalifa facade on a date determined by Emaar — with no cash figure mentioned anywhere in the current rules. The shift from a cash-driven, UAE-only contest to a longer, exposure-driven, global one suggests Emaar is betting that the prestige of the platform carries enough weight on its own — a wager that will be tested by the calibre and volume of submissions it draws internationally.

Strict Content Rules — and No AI

Emaar's terms are unusually specific about what will and will not be accepted. Entries are judged on creativity, originality, impact and technical feasibility, and the company reserves the right to select no winner at all if submissions fall short of its expectations — a clause that leaves the bar for a genuinely "winning" design entirely at the company's discretion.

Designs generated by artificial intelligence tools, including chatbots or similar software, are explicitly disqualified, as are incomplete entries and anything involving copyrighted visuals or music. Content must also be culturally appropriate, free of profanity or political sensitivity, and suitable for a family audience — reflecting the fact that the winning work will sit above one of the most photographed public squares in the world, rather than in a gallery context where a narrower audience opts in.

Participants should also note that by entering, they grant Emaar broad rights to use, adapt and publish their submission across its own media channels, not solely the tower projection itself — a detail worth reading closely in the full terms before submitting.

A Facade With a History of Storytelling

Burj Khalifa's facade has hosted large-scale projections before, including a 2018 video montage marking the centennial of the birth of Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, alongside recurring light shows for occasions such as New Year's Eve and International Women's Day. The Open Call format itself dates back to at least 2018, when a similar competition sought new designs for the tower's then record-breaking LED light show — suggesting Emaar treats the facade less as a fixed installation than as a rotating commission, periodically refreshed through public submission.

For galleries and artists working in projection, video and digital media across the region, the Open Call remains one of the very few routes to genuinely mass-scale public exposure — a different kind of opportunity from a gallery show or fair booth, but one that speaks directly to the growing overlap between fine art practice and large-format public technology in Dubai's cultural landscape.