From Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa

Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world, has just been renamed to Burj Khalifa on its opening ceremony. Burj Dubai’s change of name is in honor of Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi which recently bailed out debt-ridden Dubai in the amount of $10 billion.

Burj Khalifa boasts the most stories and highest occupied floor of any building in the world, and ranks as the world’s tallest structure, beating out a television mast in North Dakota.

Burj Khalifa is more than 50 stories higher than Chicago’s Willis Tower, the tallest building in the U.S. formerly known as the Sears Tower.

In the opening ceremony yesterday January 4 2010, 8:00 pm +4GMT time, Burj Khalifa’s official height is announced at 828 meters.