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Expo 2020 Dubai now welcoming visitors to ‘Connect Minds and Create the Future’

Expo 2020 Dubai now welcoming visitors to ‘Connect Minds and Create the Future’
October 2, 2021

Expo 2020 Dubai has opened in the United Arab Emirates with a lavish opening ceremony launching what organisers hope will be the largest global gathering since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Delayed for 12 months by the pandemic, the first world fair to be held in the Middle East, opened on Thursday evening with a lavish ceremony of fireworks, music and messaging about the power of global collaboration for a more sustainable future.

More than 190 countries are showcasing their cultures and innovations inside architecturally striking pavilions on the 438-hectare site on which Dubai's Government has spent an estimated US$7 billion.

Aiming to attract 25 million visitors over the next six months organisers say they have been "delighted" with ticket sales - with the Expo being seen as vital in revitalising Dubai’s economy.

Dubai’s Government says it wants the Expo, an exhibition of culture, technology and architecture under the banner ‘Connecting Minds and Creating the Future’, to be a demonstration of ingenuity, and a place where global challenges such as climate change, conflict and economic growth can be addressed together.

From its centerpiece dome, marketed as the world’s largest 360-degree projection screen, the Expo site’s largest attraction is the UAE’s falcon-shaped pavilion, which takes visitors on a two-hour-long immersive experience through dunes of real orange sand and footage from the country’s 50-year history.

Italy’s pavilion is draped with 70 kilometres of rope made from two million plastic bottles, with the facility also featuring is a marble replica of Michelangelo’s biblical hero, David. The 5.2 metre high nude giant is not easily accessible - visitors must enter separate floors of a building to view it at eye-level or peer up from its feet.

China's pavilion is one of the largest at the Expo and is shaped like a traditional lantern, Morocco's is made with traditional mud-building methods while Saudi Arabia's includes the world's largest interactive lighting floor, LED mirror screen and interactive water feature.

Other attractions include an African food hall, a massive mirror-like fountain with silver cascades of water flowing back and forth, a recently excavated royal Egyptian mummy, concerts and performances from around the world, and the option to dine on a $500 three-course meal with glow-in-the-dark cuisine.

Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, declared the Expo open at a ceremony on Thursday evening that featured stars from across the world, including Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, British popstar Ellie Goulding and Chinese pianist Lang Lang.

Sheikh Mohammed told the Al Bayan newspaper this week that it would be "exceptional event to be engraved in mankind's memory", noting “we take pride in welcoming representatives of 192 countries to the land of tolerance, as we invest in this global gathering to find solutions to global challenges on the grounds of international co-operation that humanity is in need of.”

Since the staging of the first World Fair in the United States in 1876 - where Alexander Graham Bell launched the telephone, the typewriter, a mechanical calculator and Heinz Ketchup - the events have captured the imagination and showcased some of humanity’s most important innovations

The most famous World Fair legacy is Paris’ Eiffel Tower, which was constructed for the 1889 edition.

Images: The interior of the centerpiece dome during the Expo 2020 Dubai opening ceremony (top), artists perform during the opening ceremony (middle) and a firework display during the opening ceremony (below). Credit: Expo 2020 Dubai/Facebook.

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