Shanghai World Expo 2010

Around 191 countries including the UK and some 48 international organisations will participate in the World Expo in Shanghai, which will run from 1 May – 31 October 2010. An important event two years on from the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, it is estimated that over 70 million people will visit the Expo over the 6 months that it is open. The Expo Park will occupy 5.3 square kilometres of land on the PuDong area of the city, on the south side of the Huangpu River and it will be the largest World Expo that has ever been staged. The theme for the Expo is Better City, Better Life. It will explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century, a significant period in urban evolution. By 2010, 55% percent of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. The prospect of future urban life concerns all nations, developed or less developed and their people. The Expo will explore eco-friendly and sustainable approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions in the new century.

Expo and the UK

The first Expo, the Great Exhibition of Industries of All Nations, was held in London in 1851.  Since then the World Expos have attained prominence as high profile international events for economic, scientific, technological, educational and cultural exchanges, serving as important platforms for displaying historical experience, exchanging innovative ideas, demonstrating esprit de corps and looking to the future.  Modern day expos are managed by the Bureau International des Expositions organisation based in Paris. In 2007, leading British architecture and design practices were invited to propose a design for the UK Pavilion.  The brief stated that the Pavilion had to be extraordinary – an iconic structure that offered a bold vision of the UK in the 21st Century as a creative, innovative and exciting country.

The UK Pavilion will occupy a 6000m2 plot of the Expo Park – roughly the same size as a football pitch.  The UK Pavilion will provide a dramatic demonstration of creativity and innovation in the UK. The centrepiece of the UK’s offering is the extraordinary pavilion building – a six story high object formed from some 60000 slender transparent rods, which will extend from the structure and quiver in the breeze. During the day, each of these rods will act like fibre optic filaments, drawing on daylight to illuminate the interior, thereby creating a contemplative awe-inspiring space. The iconic structure, designed by Heatherwick Studio, a leading British architecture firm, offers a bold vision of the UK in the 21st century showing the UK is a creative, innovative and exciting country: an attractive place in which to invest, study and visit.

The UK Pavilion will provide visitors with a memorable experience. It will entertain and engage them, while at the same time show that the UK is a powerfully creative nation that desires further engagement with China and is keen to contribute, with China and other international partners, towards progress on major global issues like sustainability and climate security.

The UK Pavilion is being funded as a joint venture between the private and public sector. Corporate sponsors include AstraZeneca, Barclays, BP, Diageo and GKN. Their involvement in the UK Pavilion will provide them a platform to showcase how Britain is a world leader in the application of innovative technology and environmental engagement while demonstrating their contribution and commitment to China.

UK at Expo Events Programme

Alongside the Expo experience, an extensive series of events for both a business and general audience covering arts, education, science and climate change will take place.  The programme of events and activity will reflect the UK’s excellence and diversity in the arts, business, culture, science and education. During the 6 months from May to October the UK Programme will include events at the Expo Park itself, both in the public landscape area and the meetings facilities, events in and around Shanghai, and events in other key major cities throughout China.  Each event will exploit the interest and excitement generated around the UK Pavilion and build on existing networks, such as the ongoing British Council and UKTI China programmes, whilst creating new, sustainable links which will continue on beyond the six months of Expo and reach throughout China far beyond Shanghai.

The programmes, together with the UK Expo website, are expected to reach millions of people during the Expo period – even more than the tens of thousands a day that are expected to visit the UK pavilion.

For queries relating to events please contact:
Sami Hamid (Shanghai, China)
+86 (0)21 6279 7651
sami.hamid@fco.gov.uk