Cap and Shades @ Dubai Expo 2020
So, I am writing this on Saturday 02 October 2021, the day after the Expo finally opened, one year later than originally planned, because of the COVID-19 Pandemic delays.
Just making my own arrangements to go and visit next week, for the first time. I am planning another visit in December. Perhaps the next visit will be before that as there is, I think, so much to see. It runs until 22 March 2021, so plenty of time for more than one visit.
Expo 2020 Dubai: Home | Connecting Minds, Creating the Future (Main Theme)
Well, so what, you might say? What’s it all about (Alfie)? It’s in the Middle East, where most people don’t live and we can’t get there easily, so why should we care? I’m hoping to change some of that negativity, with e-information, experience and enthusiasm (or the 3 Es as I will now call them!). First, I am not being paid to promote this event, just so we are clear and there are no hidden payments or benefits to me. I am just a fan of such expositions and the global community of nations and this celebrates some things close to my heart, like design, innovation, architecture and internationalism.
So here is where we start, our online journey.
Next blog post, I will bring personal video and still photos and try to represent the experience, sights, sounds, smells, wind (and dust!), in a tactile way.
For this one, I want to set the scene for 2020 by looking back to how the World Expos came into being and some pertinent dates and events. Even if you are not a fan of history like I am, you will appreciate that few things under the Sun are entirely brand new; most have their roots in the past.
What are Expos for?
Well, in principle, they are an exhibition space for national culture, hence the individual country pavilions and for innovation: some examples include television (1939), computers (1862), telephones (1876), ice cream cones (1904): haha, you weren’t expecting that were you!
Of course, not all climates are person-friendly, so exhibitions (or parts of them) need to be enclosed to protect participants from the weather. This led to the enclosure itself becoming part of the exhibition. In particular, Crystal Palace (no, not the EPL football team!), constructed in 1851, literally gave a shop window to industrial innovation, such as steel structure, glazing technology, prefabrication and industrialisation.
Similarly, monuments to a nation’s aspiration were erected e.g. the Eiffel Tower (1889), which remains as a reminder of the Expo that bore it, but also created an iconic attraction that defines that city: Paris, obviously. The Atomium (1958) did the same for Brussels. The Space Needle (1962), followed at Seattle.
The Melbourne Expo (1880) encouraged the construction of the Tram system, still in use today (although upgraded since!).
Diversifying slightly, Montreal (1967) showcased dense urban housing “Habitat 67” (credit to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_67)
Housing was again a theme at the Expo at Aichi, a Prefecture in Japan (2005). The theme of that Expo was “Nature’s Wisdom”, with national and corporate pavilions expressing themes of ecological coexistence, renewable technology, and the wonders of nature. In Japanese, this is rendered as Ai-chikyūhaku (愛・地球博), which means (roughly) “Love the Earth Expo,” as well as being a play on the name of the host prefecture, 愛知 (Aichi). (Credit to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_2005). I love it that they made a visual (Ai 愛 v 愛), verbal (Aichi v Ai-chi) and aural (listen to it spoken on Google Translate) pun in Japanese. Puns are fun. (Post-original note – I am now (June 2022) in Yokohama for the next three years; so expect a more Japanese flavour).
The theme changed in Milan (2015) not surprisingly perhaps, given it was held in Italy: food. However, it went beyond a love of pasta, pizza and gelato. Expo 2015’s theme was “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, encompassing technology, innovation, culture, traditions and creativity and how they relate to food and diet. The exposition developed themes introduced in earlier expos (such as water at Expo 2008 in Zaragoza) in light of new global scenarios and emerging issues, focusing on the right to healthy, secure and sufficient food for the world’s inhabitants. Futuristic concerns about food security are compounded by forecasts of increasing uncertainty about the quantity of food which will be available globally.
The BIE (Bureau Internationale des Expositions) describes expos as “… a theme that attempts to improve humankind’s knowledge, takes into account human and social aspirations and highlights scientific, technological, economic and social progress…”. https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/about-world-expos
So, scheduled every five years now (since Hanover in 2000), fast forward to Dubai 2020. (Post-original note – the next major Expo 2025 is in Osaka, Japan).
Apart from the Main Theme above, there are three sub-themes or I think of as protean terms: Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability. These are brought to life in three districts on the Expo site. When I have visited, I will relay my experience, but I am hoping for what BIE says is to be an “visually striking, intellectually enlightening and emotionally inspiring” event. https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/2020-dubai
See you next time…
The Expat Bedouin