The World was the most ambitious plan of Dubai’s pre-crash bubble. It was dreamed up as the ultimate trophy, the thing that would grab the world’s attention. Originally thought of in 2004, the project was supposed to be an exclusive offshore playground for film stars, royalty and celebrity tycoons. It was going to be an archipelago of 300 islands set two miles off the coast. Every year, invitations to “Own the World” were sent to a targeted group of 50 buyers. The invites included offers to tour the site by yacht or helicopter, with prices for the islands ranging from $15-50m. After five years of dredging, which saw 320 million cubic meters of sand and 25 million tonnes of rock hauled into place according to The Guardian, the final stone was laid in 2008. But then, the global financial crisis hit. The idea of The World collapsed and it was revealed that the project had debts totaling $60 billion. But now, construction is back under way and the plans are more ambitious than ever before: it is going to snow “all year round,” and there will be a main Europe island, with an Ibiza party hotel and four city hotels including Munich, London, Amsterdam and Scandinavia. These will be connected by a circular, glass-bottomed swimming pool on the roof.
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