Surreal, Expo City
A four-storey ring of waterfalls by WET Design where water flows upward and a circle of hydrogen fire burns at the centre, scored by the Game of Thrones composer.
Surreal is a monumental water-and-fire feature at the heart of Expo City Dubai, sitting between Al Wasl Plaza and Jubilee Park. It was created for Expo 2020 Dubai by the California firm WET — the designers of the Dubai Fountain and the Fountains of Bellagio — and remains as a permanent legacy attraction, with landscaping by SWA Group.
The installation is built around giant curved vertical walls, around 13 metres high, over which massive sheets of water cascade. Its signature illusion reverses gravity: by day the water flows down into a mysterious, multi-hued circle of fire at the centre; by night, engineered water effects make the sheets appear to stream upward, defying gravity. The central spiral produces roaring flames in unexpected colours — reds, greens and yellows — burning pure hydrogen, so the fire is carbon-free, in keeping with the Expo's sustainability theme, and all the water in the display is recycled.
Every surge of water is released on a musical cue, choreographed to an original orchestral score composed by Ramin Djawadi — the Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated composer of the Game of Thrones theme — and recorded with a live orchestra. Christie projectors wash the walls with colour after dark. Standing four storeys tall, with viewing platforms that let visitors get close enough to dip their feet, Surreal blends water, fire, light and music into one synchronised, multi-sensory spectacle.
Exhibo editorial
Surreal earns its name by breaking the one rule you thought water couldn't: it goes up. Stand at the base of these four-storey walls and the sheets of water pour down into a ring of coloured fire — then, after dark, seem to reverse and climb back toward the sky, while hydrogen flames throw red and green light across the whole thing.
The details are the flex. The fire is pure hydrogen, so it burns carbon-free; the water is all recycled; and the whole spectacle is choreographed to an original score by the man who wrote the Game of Thrones theme. WET, who did the Burj Khalifa fountain, clearly treated this as the place to show off. Come at night, when the fire, the colour and the upward water are all running at once, and dip your feet in.
How to find it
Surreal sits in Jubilee Park at Expo City Dubai, in Dubai South, close to the central Al Wasl Plaza — you can hear it before you see it. Walk toward it from Al Wasl Plaza; viewing platforms around the ring let you get close to the cascading walls and the central circle of fire. It is at its most spectacular after dark, when the colour projection, hydrogen flames and upward-flowing water effects run together to the orchestral score.
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