It’s Indian Independence Day, and Dubai is celebrating in a big way by lighting up the Burj Khalifa in the Indian flag

The tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, will light up with the Indian flag tonight to mark Indian Independence Day in Dubai.

Indian Independence Day falls on August 15 and celebrates the day it was liberated from British colonial rule. As the UAE is home to 4.36 million Indians, with 2 million alone living in Dubai, the city is celebrating in a big way, a really big way.

We are sure the event will be snapped up by thousands of residents and visitors in the area and posted on social media, but if you want to check it out in person, the expected time for the flag to appear is 7:50pm on Friday, August 15.

The display of the Indian flag, the world’s largest LED screen, goes just beyond being an Instagram moment. It marks the powerful friendship between the United Arab Emirates and India.

What do the colours of the Indian flag mean?

India flag

The Indian flag is also known as Tiranga, and features three horizontal bands of color: saffron (top), white (middle), and green (bottom). The saffron represents courage and sacrifice, the white, peace and truth and the green symbolises faith and fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land. In the centre of the flag on the white band is a blue Ashoka Chakra, a wheel with 24 spokes. 

Perfect knowledge to share with your friends while you’re waiting for the facade to light up.

This isn’t the first time the Burj Khalifa has been illuminated with the colours of a flag. On August 14, it showed off the Pakistan flag to mark Pakistan Independence Day, celebrated on August 14. There are over 1.5 million Pakistani expats living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Burj Khalifa also illuminates from time to time to show support for important events in the country and around the world.

Images: Emaar