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DUBAI, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Police, authorities and fire brigades in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have stepped up disaster training and preparations for the fireworks shows during midnight of Dec. 31 after New Year's Eve of 2016 witnessed a major fire in the 63-storey Address Downtown Dubai Hotel.
Several fire drills and bomb sweeps were done in Dubai and the UAE capital Abu Dhabi recently.
The Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai held a fire drill on Wednesday, and similar fire drills were also held in mid-December in the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa.
Abu Dhabi will observe several fireworks along its cornice as well as on Yas Island, which harbors several luxury hotels around the UAE's only Formula-1 circuit.
The major fireworks in Dubai will be launched around and on the Burj Khalifa at midnight when the year 2017 will start. Around 650,000 tourists and residents are expected to gather on site.
Earlier in the day, the first crowds of tourists, some equipped with their own plastic chairs, lunch packs and cameras were seen in Dubai to occupy the best spots in order to see the midnight spectacle live.
Last year's New Year's Eve saw fire broke out due to a short circuit in the Address Downtown Dubai hotel where people were gathering nearby to watch fireworks show on Burj Khalifa.
Some 14 people were slightly injured, and one died of a heart attack as the entire building was evacuated, along with the nearby Dubai Mall. The five-star hotel remains under renovation and has not yet been reopened until today.
The Gulf state is a popular holiday destination during winter in particular for travelers from colder places.
