Macau Tower

Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre (Chinese: 澳門旅遊塔會展娛樂中心; Portuguese: Centro de Convenções e Entretenimento da Torre de Macau), also known as Macau Tower (Chinese: 澳門塔; Jyutping: ou3 mun4*2 taap3; Portuguese: Torre de Macau) , is a tower located in Sé, Macau. The tower measures 338 m (1,109 ft) in height from ground level to the highest point. Its observation deck features views, restaurants, theaters, shopping malls and the Skywalk X, a walking tour around the outer rim. It offers the best view of Macau and in recent years has been used for a variety of adventurous activities. At 233 metres, the Macau Tower's tethered "skyjump" and Bungee jump by AJ Hackett[1] from the tower's outer rim, is the highest commercial skyjump in the world (233 metres), and the second highest commercial decelerator descent facility in the world, after Vegas' Stratosphere skyjump at 252 metres.[2]

Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre
澳門旅遊塔會展娛樂中心
Centro de Convenções e Entretenimento da Torre de Macau
View underneath Macau Tower showing the outer rim.
General information
TypeCommunications, mixed use
LocationSé, Macau, China
Coordinates22°10′47″N 113°32′12″E
Construction started1998
Completed2001
OpeningDecember 19, 2001
CostUSD 100 million
OwnerSociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, S.A.R.L. (STDM)
ManagementShun Holdings
Height
Antenna spire338 m (1,108.9 ft)
Roof248 m (813.6 ft)
Top floor223 m (731.6 ft)
Technical details
Floor count63 Equivalent
Lifts/elevators4
Design and construction
ArchitectCraig Craig Moller Ltd.
Structural engineerBeca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd.
Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese澳門旅遊塔會展娛樂中心
Simplified Chinese澳门旅游塔会展娱乐中心
Portuguese name
PortugueseCentro de Convenções e Entretenimento da Torre de Macau

The tower was created by Moller Architects and is one of the members of the World Federation of Great Towers. Beyond observation and entertainment, the tower is also used for telecommunications and broadcasting. It and the Grand Lisboa hotel are the most recognizable landmarks in the Macau skyline.

History
Macau Tower

On a visit to Auckland, New Zealand, Macau casino billionaire Stanley Ho Hung-Sun was so impressed by the Sky Tower in Auckland that he commissioned a similar one to be built in Macau. The tower was designed by New Zealand engineering firm Beca Group and Gordon Moller of Moller Architects for Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. Construction work of the tower started in 1998, and the tower was officially opened on December 19, 2001. The architect for the tower was Les Dykstra.[3]

61°F Outdoor Observation Deck
58°F Observation Deck
The Macau Tower Entertainment & Convention Centre also houses several stores and a movie theatre.

Bungee jumping

The Tower has routinely been used as a site for staged bungee jumping events, by professional jumpers or as part of entertainment shows.

On December 17, 2006, the father of contemporary bungee jumping, A J Hackett, and popular artist Edison Chen broke two Guinness World Records at the Macau Tower. A J Hackett, broke his own Guinness World Record of "The Highest Bungee Jump from a Building" achieved in 1987 from the Eiffel Tower. Edison Chen represented Macau Tower in the inaugural jump to bid for "The World's Highest Bungee Jump Facility".[4]

Jack Osbourne bungee-jumped off the tower as part of the third series of Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie. Anthony Bourdain bungee-jumped from the top floor of the building in an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. It was also used on the Chinese variety show Up Idol (season 2) for episode 1. The two team captains, Wang Han and Yuan Hong, with their members, were given a mission - sky relay - to be completed on the tower as short a time as possible. Yuan Hong's team won the game, and Wang Han's team was given the punishment of bungee-jumping from the Tower. The jump was carried out by team members Xie Na and Joe Chen.

The Tower served as the venue of photoshoot of Episode 10, America's Next Top Model Cycle 18: British Invasion. In a 2018 Instagram post, contestant Annaliese Dayes revealed that during the photoshoot in the girls experienced “hail stones and gail force winds at 388 metres above the ground”. She also revealed that the weather was so bad, that the tower was closed “to the public due to the treacherous weather”.[5]

It was also featured in the third episode of An Idiot Abroad 3, with Karl Pilkington and Warwick Davis walking around the perimeter of one of the highest floors and Davis undertaking a controlled descent to the ground.

It was used on the South Korean variety show Running Man for episode 133. The cast (not including Kim Jongkook) and their guests, Lee Dong-wook and Han Hye-jin, were given three missions - sky jump, mast climb, and sky walk - to be completed on the tower to acquire the three characters they needed to continue onto the next mission.

The tower was the site of a "Roadblock" task in an episode of American version of The Amazing Race: All-Stars that originally aired on April 22, 2007, on CBS as well as a Roadblock on The Amazing Race Canada 2 in 2014. The tower also appeared in one Roadblock each on two episodes of The Amazing Race Asia 3.

See also

References
  1. "Macau Tower bungy AJ Hackett - Official Website". S181386383.websitehome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2011-01-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Les Dykstra is now Director of Architects-ldl
  4. "Breaking Two Guinness World Records". Macau Tower - Press. Archived from the original on 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2006-12-16.
  5. "Annaliese Dayes on Instagram: "Just another #ANTM #throwback for your Tuesday night! So this day in #Macau🇲🇴 was TERRIFYING... Started at 5am when camera crews &…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
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