New Year’s Eve revellers have been handed a major boost by the announcement that the Dubai Metro will run uninterrupted through the night.

More than a million people are expected to use the service over December 31 and the early hours of January 1 during almost 40 hours of continual service.

Having started at 5.30am on Tuesday morning, trains will run all the way until midnight on Wednesday, by which time it would have carried almost double the record number of passengers (587,000) set last year on the final day of 2012.

The busiest ports of call are expected to be around the Burj Khalifa, where Emaar have announced they will rival the world-record attempt on The Palm, with their own 10-act spectacular.

The New Year’s Eve Gala, which is being streamed live on YouTube, will pay homage to the nation and the city, doubling in many ways as an extended celebration of the Expo 2020 triumph announced last month.

A spokeman for Emaar, said: “The New Year’s Eve Gala at Burj Khalifa enjoys iconic status globally and underlines Dubai’s reputation as the must-visit destination to usher in the New Year. Dubai’s gala at Downtown Dubai will significantly add to the city’s civic pride, boost the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors, and salute the city’s win to host the World Expo 2020, with visitors expected from all over the world.

“This year, the fireworks display will be extra special with ten spectacular effects, some rising higher than 1km, which not only salute our nation and the city, but also the design of Burj Khalifa.”