What’s a good excuse for a blow-out party? A milestone birthday? A record business deal? Your child’s graduation? How about the 2,500th anniversary of your empire? In October 1971, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, (soon to be the last king, or Shah, of Persia) pulled out all the stops for a three-day fiesta celebrating two and a half millennia of the Persian Empire.

Eighteen tons of food were flown in for the celebrations, along with kings, presidents and emperors from across the globe. Presiding over it all was Pahlavi, who assumed titles like “King of Kings” and “Light of the Aryans.”

Throughout his reign, Pahlavi was dedicating to restoring the glory of Persia, giving women the right to vote in elections and fast-tracking modernisation and industrialisation projects including sinking billions into healthcare and education. But, despite his focus on societal advances, the Shah was not a popular figure, especially in the West, where a trip to Berlin sparked riots. The 2,5000th birthday of the Persian Empire, then, would be the perfect way to show off the modern and free Iran to the world. A particular highlight was to be Iran’s pre-Islamic roots, and its founder, Cyrus the Great, the first king of the Persian Empire.

Planning began a year earlier, in 1970, with Pahlavi aiming to make it the most luxurious party on earth. As with any party, location was everything. It was decided that Persepolis, the ruined first capital of the Persian Empire, was the perfect spot. French architects were hired along with interior decorators to put together 50 marquee suites for visitors, complete with bathrooms, an office and a salon, located close to the tomb of King Cyrus.

Next to this 160 acre, “Golden City” of tents, Pahlavi build an airfield and a 100km motorway to Tehran. After all, the middle of the desert was a long way to Uber. So detailed were Pahlavi’s plans, that he even planted trees in the dry desert to replicate how Persepolis had looked thousands of years ago. So eager was the Shah that the event should go off without a hitch that he also ordered all snakes and other “vermin” cleared from around Persepolis.

Newspapers around the world were already calling this the party of the century, and the most expensive party ever held – and that’s before the Shah flew in 50,000 songbirds from Europe. Catering was provided by Maxim’s in Paris. So great was the design that the then best restaurant in the world had to shut up shop for a fortnight so its staff could prepare. Naturally, the caviar was flown directly from Russia.

The expenses did not stop there. The tableware was made from expensive porcelain, and flown in by the Iranian military from Paris – all 150 tons of it. Guests were chauffeured in in 250 red Mercedes-Benz 600 limousines. For the guests of honour, the Shah had installed a 70m long dinner table; its tablecloth had taken 125 women six months to embroider. At dinner, guests toasted with a Dom Perignon Rosé 1959. With 600 guests dining over five and a half hours, the feast bagged a Guinness World Record as the world’s longest and most lavish feast.

The party began on October 12th with a speech from the Shah, delivered from the mausoleum of Cyrus the Great. Guests included Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie who, as a key ally, remained glued to Pahlavi’s side. Queen Elizabeth II had been advised not to attend for security issues, so sent Prince Phillip and Princess Anne in her place. Other royals included the king and queens of Denmark, Belgium, Nepal and the king of Norway. Vice President Spiro Agnew showed his face on behalf of the US and President Richard Nixon. Even the Vatican was represented.

The entire event was televised via satellite connection and viewed around the world. The total bill is contested, but has been estimated as high as £300 million. For the Shah, it was worth it; by displaying his country’s wealth and heritage, he had shown that Iran was one of the world’s pre-eminent and most forward-thinking nations.

Just eight years later, the Shah would be overthrown in the Iranian revolution, bringing Iran’s royal lineage to an end. As Iran was transformed into an Islamic Republic, women would lose their right to vote and much of the Shah’s work would be undone. The Shah would eventually die in exile in 1980 with many scholars pointing to the vast, arguably needless extravagance of his party as a key factor in his decline – talk about a comedown.The Shah’s Golden City remained open as a tourist attraction until the Revolution, when it was looted.

After all the money, after the Shah and his guests are gone, Persepolis remains a popular tourist attraction. Like Iran itself and the memory of the Persian Empire, the oft-exaggerated story of the biggest party on earth endures, for good or ill.

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