Wax museums have fascinated people for over two centuries. The secret of the enduring appeal of wax museums is good old-fashioned curiosity, fascination and admiration. When talking about wax museums, the first name that comes to mind is Madame Tussauds. The first Madame Tussauds museum opened in London in 1835. This facility on Baker Street attracts over 2.5 million visitors annually and has over 250 wax statues. It is great family fun and a one-of-a-kind experience.
Madame Tussauds wax museums are located in Amsterdam, Bangkok, Berlin, Blackpool, Hollywood, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, New York, Shanghai, Washington, Vienna, Istanbul and New Delhi. After setting up the sought-after wax museums in two dozen venues across the world, Dubai is set to witness the opening of the GCC’s first wax museum this year. Located on Bluewaters Island, the museum will house incredibly life-like wax figures of favourite celebrities and heroes.
It has been one of the most talked-about and highly anticipated attractions to come to the UAE, and the wait is nearly over. Tourists and residents can feel the fame as they step into the star-studded party of a lifetime, where they can meet incredible likenesses of the stars from the region and beyond in a family-oriented attraction that offers a diverse range of experiences to enjoy all year round.
Merlin Entertainments, the owner of Madame Tussauds group, says the Dubai facility will have sculptures of 60 global stars. The museum is nearing completion next to Ain Dubai, the world’s tallest and largest observation wheel with a height of over 250 metres. Ain Dubai is set to open in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Popular Indian actor Shahrukh Khan will have a wax statue here along with the football superstar Christiano Ronaldo. The attraction will include 16 wax figures of Middle Eastern personalities, including Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram. Other prominent global icons to be featured include Hollywood’s celebrities Tom Cruise, Vin Diesel, Jennifer Lawrence, Jackie Chan.
Also included are Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor Khan. Sports will be represented by Lewis Hamilton, Sachin Tendulkar and Lionel Messi. Musical icons such as Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Will Smith and Pharrell Williams, and the world’s top leaders such as former US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will also be featured. This will be Madame Tussads’25th attraction in the world.
It will have 21,628 square feet of exhibition space across two floors. The museum will be divided into seven themed rooms. In addition, the zones will include unique attributes that are built for photo opportunities. Dubai had long been associated with the famed museum. In 2005, Madame Tussauds was sold to Dubai International Capital for £800 million. Two years later, Blackstone Group purchased The Tussauds Group from Dubai for US$1.9 billion and merged it with Blackstone’s Merlin Entertainments and the operation of Madame Tussauds was taken over by Merlin, the second largest attraction operator in the world.
Love, sweat, tears…What goes into creating a wax figure
Creating a wax figure isn’t an easy task. To create a single life-like figure, it takes artists 12 weeks in total. During this time, they document 500 precise body measurements, insert real hair strand by strand, apply countless layers of paints to build up the skin tones, and more. This entire process helps to achieve the incredible likeness that has made Madame Tussauds world-renowned for over two centuries.
Each figure at Madame Tussauds is created using the expertise of sculptors who use the same techniques as the famous Marie Tussaud. The time and craftsmanship are also reflected in the value of the figure, which can cost up to a whopping Dh700,000 depending on the detail required. More than 150 photographs of the subject are taken from head to toe and at different angles by the team. It varies on the size of the model, but on average it takes over 800 hours, over 1,000kg of wax and 150kg of clay per wax figure.
The personality has hundreds of measurements taken to ensure their wax figure looks realistic. The wax figures are made two per cent larger than the real person because wax shrinks during the creation process. Many intricate, hand-carved details are added, along with makeup and hair to bring it to life. Most wax figures are made from paraffin wax, but some parts of the figures are made from beeswax.
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