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Show-Biz's Finest Party in Dubai

by Celebuzz on Nov. 20, 2008 03:29 PM / Leave a Comment

A slew of show-biz luminaries are sheikh-ing things up in the United Arab Emirates.

The Atlantis, The Palm resort has imported a cavalcade of celebrities to celebrate its grand opening in the rapidly expanding vacation hot-spot of Dubai.

Mischa Barton, 22, Lindsay Lohan, 22, (who made the trip with her lady-love, Samantha Ronson, 31), Natalie Imbruglia, 33, Virgin Records founder Richard Branson, 58, Mary-Kate Olsen, 22, and basketball legend Michael Jordan, 45, were among the many high-profile guests on hand for the vacation-destination unveiling.

The ocean-themed hotel, which actually opened in September of this year, boasts 1,539 rooms, at rates of up to $26,000 per night.

The 113-acre resort includes one of the largest open-air marine habitats in the world, with 65,000 sea critters housed in lagoons. Another prime attraction is a maze of underwater corridors and passageways meant to approximate a journey through the lost city of Atlantis.

The appropriately lavish grand-opening ceremony featured a $6 million fireworks display (by Grucci’s, the company that lit up the Beijing Olympics) and a catering bill estimated at $3 million, with the menu designed by four Michelin star chefs.

Songbird Kylie Minogue, 40, reportedly raked in $4.4 million to serenade the crowd.