World Scenery – SkyParkInfinity Pool in Singapore*Ref: email from LH on 7/12/2010

If you fancy a dip in this pool, it's 55 stories up. But swimming to the edge is not as risky as it looks. While the water inthe infinity pool seems to end in a sheer drop, it actually spills into a catchment area where it is pumped back into the

main pool. At three times the length of an Olympic pool and 650 feet up, it is the largest outdoor pool in the world at thatheight. It features in the impressive, boat-shaped 'SkyPark' perched atop the three towers that make up the world's most

expensive hotel, the $6.3 billion Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore.

A guest swims in the infinity pool of the Skypark that tops the Marina Bay Sands hotel towers - 55 storeys over the city

of SSingapore. The pool stretches 150 metres, three times the length of an Olympic swimming pool.

An artist's impression shows the Skypark that tops the Marina Bay Sands hotel towers, including the infinity poolThe hotel, which has 2,560 rooms costing from $550 a night, was officially opened yesterday with a concert by Diana

Ross. The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, estimated to have cost $3 billion when it opened in 2004, was previously the

world's most expensive hotel.But with its indoor canal, opulent art, casino, outdoor plaza, convention center, theatre, crystal pavilion and museum

shaped like a lotus flower, the Marina Bay Sands has taken its crown.The infinity pool on the roof is in the 'SkyPark' which spans the three towers of the hotel. The platform itself is longerthan the Eiffel tower laid down and is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Infinity pools give the effect that the

water extends to the horizon. In reality, the water spills over the edge into a catchment below, and is then pumped backinto the pool. The pools have two circulation systems. The first functions like that of a regular pool, filtering and heating

the water in the main pool. The second filters the water in the catch basin and returns it to the upper pool.

The resort from across the bay. The three towers were based on a deck of cards, according to designer Moshe Safdie.

A skydiver parachutes pass the Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands

A newly-wed couple enjoy a canal ride inside the resort's shopping center. The Marina Sands resort was designed byarchitect Moshe Safdie who based it on a deck of cards. Inside shoppers can ride along an indoor canal in Sampan

boats styled on traditional Chinese vessels from the 17th century. The owners have also commissioned five well-knownartists to create works of art to 'integrate' with the buildings. Among these is a 40 m-long Antony Gormley sculpture

made from 16,100 steel rods. The whole thing weighs 14.8 tons and it took 60 people to assemble it in the hotel.Artist Chongbin Zheng created Rising Forest which is 83 three meter high pots with trees in them. The pots were so big

the artist had to build a customized kiln the size of a small building to make them in. Last night, the world's mostexpensive hotel was given a launch party befitting it. Singing legend Diana Ross performed for 2,500 VIPs in the resort's

Grand Ballroom and pop singer Kelly Rowland headlined an outdoor concert.

Money-maker: Left, the entrance to the casino, which costs nearly $75 to get in and is attracting 25,000 visitors each day.Right, a man looks through a steel web art structure in one of the towers

Models pose in the pool for journalists at the grand opening yesterday.The opening celebrations also featured a death-defying relay. Seven teams of three participants each scaled the three

towers before sprinting across the 340-metre long Sands SkyPark, where the infinity pool is located, to the finish line.The resort will employ 10,000 people and generate up to $75 million each year.

Thomas Arasi, president and chief executive officer of the resort, said he expects to attract an astonishing 70,000 visitorsa day once it is fully open.

It was due to open in 2009, but was delayed thanks to labor and material shortages, and funding problems due to theglobal financial crisis.