The Burj Khalifa opening date was January 4, 2010, when the tower was unveiled at 828 meters, or 2,717 feet, tall, across 163 floors, instantly becoming the tallest building in the world. It still holds that title today. Here is the fact I think gets skipped most often: the building was not always called the Burj Khalifa, and the story behind the name change is worth knowing before you book a ticket with that name printed on it.
I am pulling these numbers from the building’s own published specifications and well documented history, not a personal account of its construction. If you want to see what this height actually looks like from the inside, my floor heights explained guide breaks down every observation level in meters and feet. If you have read enough history and are ready to book, the full Burj Khalifa ticket lineup compares all nine tours and tickets sold for this building.
When did the Burj Khalifa officially open?
The Burj Khalifa officially opened on January 4, 2010, after roughly six years of construction that began in 2004. The opening ceremony included a major fireworks display and marked the building’s debut as the tallest structure ever built.
This date matters beyond trivia, since it places the building squarely in Dubai’s major development push of the 2000s, built as the centerpiece of the wider Downtown Dubai district. I think it is worth remembering that a project this scale was finished in six years, which is fast for a structure that broke multiple engineering records along the way.
How tall is the Burj Khalifa, and how many floors does it have?
The Burj Khalifa stands 828 meters, or 2,717 feet, tall, with 163 floors above ground, making it the tallest building in the world since it opened. That height includes the spire, which accounts for a significant portion of the total.
I would call this the single most useful fact to know before your visit, since every observation deck ticket you might book is measured against this total. Level 124 reaches just over half that height, and even the highest publicly bookable lounge at roughly 575 meters leaves well over 250 meters of building still above you. My Burj Khalifa ticket prices guide shows what each tier costs relative to how much of that total height you actually reach.
Why was the building renamed from Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa?
During construction the tower was known as Burj Dubai. It was renamed Burj Khalifa at its opening ceremony in honor of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates at the time, in recognition of the financial support his government provided to Dubai during the 2009 global financial crisis.
My honest take is that this detail changes how I read the name on every ticket page across this site. It is not simply a brand name, it is a piece of UAE political and economic history stamped onto the world’s tallest building at the exact moment it opened. I think that context is worth more than most visitors realize when they book a ticket that just says “Burj Khalifa” on it.
Who designed the Burj Khalifa?
The building was designed by architect Adrian Smith, working with the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with structural engineering led by Bill Baker. The design draws on patterns found in regional desert flowers and Islamic architecture, visible in the building’s tiered, spiraling footprint.
I find this worth mentioning because the shape is not purely decorative. The tiered design reduces wind forces as the tower narrows toward the top, which is part of how the building reaches this height safely. If engineering details like that interest you, the ground floor exhibition included in every observation deck ticket covers this in more depth than any single article can.
What world records does the Burj Khalifa hold?
The Burj Khalifa holds the record for tallest building in the world and tallest freestanding structure, titles it has kept since opening in 2010. It also held the record for highest occupied floor and highest outdoor observation deck in the world when it opened.
I would treat the “tallest building” title as the one record worth remembering, since it is the one that has genuinely held up over time. Other records tied to specific features can shift as new towers open elsewhere in the world, but no building has yet surpassed the Burj Khalifa’s overall height since 2010.
What role does Dubai Mall play in the Burj Khalifa visit?
Dubai Mall sits directly at the base of the Burj Khalifa and is one of the largest shopping malls in the world by total area. The observation deck entrance, the ticket counters, and the connecting corridor to the tower are all accessed through the mall’s lower ground floor.
I think this connection is genuinely useful to know before you go, not just a trivia point. You are not visiting a standalone tower, you are walking through a mall that also houses the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, so budgeting extra time for that walk through a genuinely massive building is part of planning the visit properly. My Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo tickets guide covers that second attraction if you want to pair both in one day.
How fast is the elevator, and is that part of the building’s history?
The elevator to Level 124 covers more than 500 meters in under a minute, traveling at around 10 meters per second, which made it one of the fastest elevators in the world at the time of opening. Screens inside show footage of the building’s construction during the ride.
My take is that this elevator is as much a part of the building’s engineering story as the height itself. Reaching this speed safely at this scale required solving problems that had not been solved before, which is exactly what the ground floor exhibition on every ticket walks you through before you even step inside.
Does the building still hold its records today, years after opening?
Yes, for the headline title. The Burj Khalifa remains the tallest building in the world more than a decade after opening, with no completed structure anywhere having surpassed its 828 meter height.
I would not assume every secondary record from 2010 still stands exactly as it did, since other tall buildings have opened elsewhere since then and some narrower titles can shift. The overall height record, the one most people actually care about, has not moved.
Frequently asked questions
What was the Burj Khalifa’s opening date?
January 4, 2010, after roughly six years of construction that began in 2004.
How tall is the Burj Khalifa in meters and feet?
828 meters, or 2,717 feet, making it the tallest building in the world since it opened.
How many floors does the Burj Khalifa have?
163 floors above ground, not counting the spire or the mechanical levels within the structure.
Why is it called Burj Khalifa instead of Burj Dubai?
The building was renamed at its opening ceremony to honor Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President at the time, after his government supported Dubai financially during the 2009 financial crisis.
My recommendation
Read this history before your visit rather than after, since knowing the name’s story and the records behind the height genuinely changes how the elevator ride and the ground floor exhibition land once you are there. If the facts above have you ready to book, the current price and available slots for the standard observation deck ticket are on the Burj Khalifa Levels 124 and 125 tickets page.
