Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
The World Welcomes 2026. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired December 31, 2025 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:31:25]
BECKY ANDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN ABU DHABI & ANCHOR: Welcome back. We are gearing up to ring in the New Year here on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, the heart of entertainment here. There's a great crowd out enjoying the food and the festivities. Ready to see the fireworks in less than two hours.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It is quite a show here. You could just tell, people are ready to go. I got to know the city pretty well the last few days. You took me to so many different parts of it.
ANDERSON: It is a challenge.
BERMAN: It was really something. People want to put me on this New Year's Eve challenge and I want to show people part of the second leg of my cultural scavenger hunt that you sent me on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: I have new clues from Becky here. At the Louvre, find the animal created at the meeting point of the East and the West.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John, I think I might know exactly where that is. Let's go.
BERMAN: All right, let's go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.
BERMAN: How many layers are there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if I told you right in front of us, Mr. John, we have the monumental lion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An artist from Asia, an animal from Africa, and a material from Europe and they are all combined in one big artwork.
BERMAN: So the monumental lion is the answer to our first clue here. I have a new clue. Find the very first piece to have entered the collections of the Louvre, Abu Dhabi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's beautiful. So John -- BERMAN: It is this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mondrian has arrived, here.
BERMAN: It doesn't get any more beautiful and modern than this.
I accomplished all the tasks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations. John, I hope you had a great time.
BERMAN: I had a great time. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: However, we're not done.
BERMAN: Not done?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to take you to my favorite place so far.
BERMAN: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A place that speaks about art, technology, and nature all together. And for that, you need a futuristic ride to go to the future. So I introduce you to my friend, Ali.
BERMAN: Ali, I'm John. Nice to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to see you too.
BERMAN: There's no driver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No driver. It's a fully autonomous vehicle. This is happening across all domains, John, on land, sea, air. We have drone deliveries. We have air taxis, autonomous vessels. It's happening. It's a reality here in Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: That last stop I made there with all those lights is a place called Team Labs, which is, I don't even know how to describe it. It's this fully immersive artistic technological experience that you walk through. It's like the last Grateful Dead show I went to, except without the music and without any other funny business there. But it's sort of, it really, it was a complete sensory just festival.
ANDERSON: And the idea is that you get this sort of, you know, with that you get this sort of futuristic sense. I mean, it's really emotional.
[13:35:00]
I mean, it's an art installation. It's a Japanese collective who have put this together. And it, you know, it complements, I think, so well. I remember when it first was being talked about and I thought, how's that going to go next to the Louvre, the Zayed National Museum? But it's so complementary. Of course, the Guggenheim is coming next year as well.
But it really, it works. And it is an amazing experience. So I'm glad you -- well done on the scavenger hunt, by the way.
BERMAN: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: (Inaudible).
BERMAN: I did OK. I did OK.
(LAUGH)
ANDERSON: Well, the UAE's arts and culture scene isn't just centred on Saudi yet (ph). Our next guest is critical to a public art project that spans pretty much all of Abu Dhabi, from here to Al Ain, the Emirate's largest inland city, the incredible light installations of Manar Abu Dhabi.
John, a breathtaking artist from here in the Emirates, and all around the world have made this year's theme, which is the Light Compass come to life with pieces that go beyond decorating the environment to really engaging with it. And Alia Zaal Lootah is the curator of Manar Abu Dhabi that runs through the beginning of January.
Welcome.
ALIA ZAAL LOOTAH, CURATOR, MANAR ABU DHABI: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Thank you for joining us on New Year's Eve.
LOOTAH: Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here.
ANDERSON: It's wonderful to have you. How did this project come together -- through?
LOOTAH: This project came together after the realization of the importance of public art. We've launched the Public Art Department in 2023. And with it, we've launched the first edition of Manar Abu Dhabi. Manar Abu Dhabi is a light art exhibition that takes place in different locations across the geography of Abu Dhabi.
We wanted to shed light on the islands of Abu Dhabi. A lot of people don't know that Abu Dhabi is an archipelago that's composed out of more than 200 islands. And we wanted to bring in contemporary art with nature and history to the people, for the public.
BERMAN: You curate -- you've curated so many different beautiful things here. How much of yourself do you put into it? How you decide which experiences to give other people?
LOOTAH: A lot of myself, I would say. I'm also an artist. So I feel like the urge to feel the art really genuinely, you know, merge with nature and merge with the context of which we exhibit the works. Because with public art, it's very important to choose the locations that will really create an impact. And we thought that, you know, having a light art exhibition is important because, you know, the night is a very important part of the day.
And especially in this weather, in Abu Dhabi, it's a festive season, it's the New Year's, it's Ramadan coming soon. And also, like, we've also had changes in the vacations for children in school. So it's a perfect moment to have all the family come and visit different locations.
ANDERSON: And you're right, I mean, it's a culture where people are out and about in the evenings and late on into the night. And I've seen how families here have really enjoyed sort of walking amongst this art. How are you balancing Emirati artists in these exhibitions with international artists?
LOOTAH: Yes. So we always invite Emirati artists and international artists to respond to Abu Dhabi. And we have Emirati artists from different emirates of the UAE and we always invite people to come and respond to specific locations.
So in this edition of Manar Abu Dhabi, we've had Emirati artists respond to important historic sites that are part of UNESCO protected sites in Al-Jimi and Al-Qattara oasis. And it's very important to hear the voices of the Emirati artists and see them respond to their own history and their own culture.
BERMAN: I always think of art and the arts as one of the most human things there is, essentially human expressing yourself in artistic ways, maybe one of the few professions that I don't think will be taken over by artificial intelligence. But yet, there might be a way to incorporate it.
LOOTAH: Of course, of course. Artificial intelligence is everywhere. And we like and I personally like to encourage artists to explore that, especially with an exhibition that is about light art. It's a genre that came through after the technological revolution.
[13:40:00]
And it's very important to always keep updating oneself and also present something that is contemporary and that speaks to everyone. So with some of the works, for example, in Manar Abu Dhabi, in the second edition, we've employed artificial intelligence to create special experiences that we weren't able to do before that.
ANDERSON: And we're seeing some of those images on the screen now.
LOOTAH: Yes.
ANDERSON: Look, I mean, this has been fantastic to experience. It's on through January --
LOOTAH: Yes.
ANDERSON: -- as I understand it. What's next for you in 2026?
LOOTAH: So in the Public Art Department, we alternate between Manar Abu Dhabi and the Public Arts Biennial. So in 2026, we'll have the second edition of the Public Arts Biennial. And we work continuously on special commissions that will stay permanently in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, be it tunnels or public artworks across the city. And we're very excited to see what's coming.
ANDERSON: Well, it's super to have you on tonight.
LOOTAH: Thank you, Becky.
ANDERSON: Happy New Year.
LOOTAH: Thank you very much. Happy New Year.
ANDERSON: Thank you for joining us here --
BERMAN: Yeah.
ANDERSON: -- for our party at Yas Island, one of those islands that you talked about.
LOOTAH: Thank you. Yes.
BERMAN: The art scene is simply so cool here in Abu Dhabi. I've been to the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, which was fantastic. There is another one. There is another Louvre on planet Earth. And that, of course, is in Paris where I'm told Melissa Bell is there. Melissa, what are you seeing?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening. None of the Louvre tonight, it has been in the headlines a great deal, the one in Paris, of course.
We are instead tonight at the world famous, Moulin Rouge, where tonight they will be celebrating, as they do every year, the New Year. We have a few hours to go, but people have been lining up for what promises to be a pretty impressive show. They have more than 100 artists.
And this will go on over the course of the evening. They'll be dancing. The famous dancers, the can-can, a lot of champagne will be drunk. And then, of course, people get to dance inside. It's pretty spectacular. We're going to be in there later this evening.
There will, of course, elsewhere in Paris, the Champs-Elysees. Most years, we get about a million people who make their way onto what they describe here in France, at least, as the most beautiful avenue in the world. Ten thousand policemen out there securing it tonight.
There will be, of course, the fireworks this year. The theme you've been talking about, art, it is here also, art and thought. That is what tonight's show on the Champs-Elysees will be about and what the fireworks here in France will be dedicated to. But we are going to be able to watch the can-can dancers in full swing, and we hope get in on a little bit of the action.
ANDERSON: Right. Melissa Bell painting the town red with the Moulin Rouge. Good to have you, Melissa. Happy New Year to you, [Foreign Language].
BERMAN: As they say.
ANDERSON: As they say. We are here on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, getting ready to ring in the New Year. We will be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA STEWART, ENTERPRENEUR AND FOUNDER, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA: Hi, everybody. I'm Martha Stewart. And I wish everybody watching CNN, a very, very Happy New Year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:47:51]
BERMAN: Welcome back to Abu Dhabi. Happy almost New Year. We're a bit more than an hour away from 2026 here in the UAE. And it's been an exciting and somewhat exhausting day --
ANDERSON: To say the least.
BERMAN: -- I think for us, right?
(LAUGH)
ANDERSON: Well, it has. So you've been in town for what? About 38 hours?
BERMAN: Something like that.
ANDERSON: Right. OK. So I'm just going to take our viewers through. Let's just take our viewers through some of what I challenged you to do while you were here. Starting off with the fastest roller coaster in the world. How was that?
BERMAN: The Formula Rossa at Ferrari World. I have to tell you, they call it the fastest roller coaster in the world, but that doesn't do it justice. Because it shoots you out at like 150 miles an hour.
ANDERSON: 240 kilometers an hour.
BERMAN: Right. Zero to 60 in two seconds.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
BERMAN: And I just, you need to take a look. Just take a look at what this is like.
(LAUGH) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Happy New Year.
(LAUGH)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: There was a laugh there from me. And I'm like, who is that? Who is that monster sitting beside you?
BERMAN: I didn't know that I could make sounds like that. But you have to make sound. I'm telling you, it's proof of life. You feel the need to make noise so you can prove that you haven't fallen off.
(LAUGH)
ANDERSON: 4.8 Gs, by the way. And you feel it. You feel that blood rush from here to your feet and back again a number of times on that. A pleasant experience?
BERMAN: Pleasant experience, not the first word that would come to mind. It's an experience.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BERMAN: It's an experience.
ANDERSON: Yeah. I hated it.
BERMAN: And I've done it.
(LAUGH)
BERMAN: And I've now done it and I don't ever have to do it again.
ANDERSON: All right. What else did we get up to?
BERMAN: So, we spent some time, really some wonderful time at the Yas Marina Circuit. The track where they have the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And this was, I mean, it was absolutely thrilling. For fans of F1, the film, or Formula One racing out there, I mean, this is like the place to be.
[13:50:00]
ANDERSON: That's right. And we were trackside. We were right in the pit lane. This was earlier on today with a couple of professional drivers. Youngsters who are hoping to be professional drivers.
They came out of the academy here, two youngsters, Keanu and Rashid, who are 18-years-old.
BERMAN: Yeah.
ANDERSON: They've been karting since they were six. They are amazing drivers, unlike you and I. Actually, you weren't bad. I was terrible.
BERMAN: But they -- yeah, they tried. So we had a little competition before we got on the track, trying to change tires in a Formula One car. Take a look at how that went.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Done.
(LAUGH)
ANDERSON: So Luke (ph), how did we do?
(LAUGH)
ANDERSON: Sorry, John.
BERMAN: All right. You did a great job. I failed you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: So I won that and then this happened.
(LAUGH)
BERMAN: Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGH)
BERMAN: There's you. There's you. There's you just coming in there. I've been there. I had a couple of drinks. I was relaxing, put my feet up. And then finally, Becky comes around the last turn there.
ANDERSON: So we weren't in what looked like the Formula One cars at the front. Those are F3000 cars, I think. And again, we have professional drivers in those. We were in Aston Martin GT4s, which are powerful enough, it has to be said. My legs were shaking when I got out of that. You did all right.
BERMAN: It was so much fun. They tell you just, you know, at the beginning, gun it. I'm like, really? Gun it. They're like, gun it. I'm like, OK.
ANDERSON: Yeah, well, the problem was you gunned it because the car in front of you gunned it. I was the one on the left-hand side. And this poor chap actually stalled on his way out. So my guy was saying to me, you have an instructor in the car.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: The reason I'm telling you this, folks, is I didn't want you to think I was so bad that I was left in John's dust. But you can see I wasn't really accelerating there.
BERMAN: In the United States, we call it a participation trophy, which is what you got for being there. Great job just trying, Becky. Well done.
ANDERSON: Thank you very much indeed, John Berman. And this isn't all just fun and games for us, although we've had a lot of that. It is all about business as well, and obviously F1, huge for business here every year.
Look, Leila, my colleague, is back with us live from Al Wathba, which is about an hour's drive from here, where we are on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. And she is at an event where they are hoping to break a Guinness World Record. Leila?
LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Becky. They want to break a Guinness World Record. I'm actually here with Naema Mohamed, who is one of the organizers on the media side of the Sheikh Zayed Festival, and she's going to tell us about all five of the Guinness World Records that they're looking to break.
NAEMA MOHAMED, MEDIA TEAM, SHEIKH ZAYED FESTIVAL: We are aiming to achieve five Guinness World Records, which are the longest continuous fireworks show, which is going to be 62 continuous minutes of fireworks. The second is going to be the most waterfall firework balloon launch within 30 seconds, and the most thunder fireworks within 30 seconds, the most wolf whistle fireworks within 30 seconds, and the most ring fireworks within 30 seconds.
Some might say this is ambitious, but for us, aiming high isn't about breaking records. It's a reflection of our leadership's belief that we should always strive to set global benchmarks while still staying grounded with our culture and our values.
GHARAGOZLOU: And how long did it take for you guys to organize these record-breaking fireworks?
MOHAMED: The process took about 45 days with more than 9,000 tons of fireworks and around 70 specialized employees.
GHARAGOZLOU: So as you can see, John and Becky, this is going to be a massive show. People have been sitting out here since about two, three in the afternoon. They've been camping. They're getting excited. It's getting busier behind me. So, we're all waiting to see what's going to happen for these amazing fireworks finales. We're also waiting for the drone show, which is going to happen in the next hour.
ANDERSON: Leila, we've just learned more about fireworks than I thought I would ever need to know. What were those? Toe-curling something or others -- did you get that?
GHARAGOZLOU: Yeah, they had waterfall fireworks.
BERMAN: They're going to break all kinds of fireworks records.
[13:55:00] GHARAGOZLOU: So many different times.
ANDERSON: Exacly.
(LAUGH)
GHARAGOZLOU: All the records.
ANDERSON: Well, listen, good luck there. Good luck with the records. We will be right back after this with another hour of CNN's special New Year's Eve coverage from Abu Dhabi. Back end of that, we will be ringing in the New Year. John?
BERMAN: Happy almost New Year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
