Shanghai 2010: Most Ambitious World Expo Ever

Source: Beijing This Month

This EXPO is going to be huge. This is no surprise coming from China where bigger is always better.

Since 1851 when the Great Exhibition of Industries of All Nations was held in the Crystal Palace in London, the World Expositions have attained increasing prominence as grand events for economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, serving as an important platform for displaying historical experience, exchanging innovative ideas, demonstrating esprit de corps and looking to the future.

On December 3, 2002, Shanghai won the bid from the five candidate cities of hosting the World Expo 2010; the World Expo 2010 Shanghai thus became the first pending registered world exposition in a developing country in its 100-year-plus history.

After the 1933 World Expo Chicago created a theme for its exposition, subsequent expos furthered the tradition of establishing themes. With the theme “Better City, Better Life,” World Expo 2010 Shanghai will be the world exposition to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century and a significant period in urban evolution.

.....more

Economic woes impact World Expo

Source: BBC

Chinese officials insist next year's World Expo in Shanghai has enough sponsorship and enough participants to be a success, despite the pressures of the current worldwide economic crisis.

Some 232 countries and organisations have signed up to take part in the technology and innovation showcase, although several have scaled back their plans.

With just over 400 days to go until the exhibition opens, the United States has yet to confirm its attendance because it's struggling to find the money to build its pavilion.

US law prohibits the use of public money to build an Expo pavilion, and it's proving hard to raise the cash needed from other sources.

The US has missed World Expo before, but a failure to attend next year's event would be seen as a major snub by many Chinese.

Are these necessary anymore? I remember going to Expo 86 in Vancouver as a kid and it was alot of fun. I got to learn more about places like Kenya and Peru.

But nowadays, with technology and the internet, isn't is unnecessary to have world exhibit when everyone know everything about the world already? Since I haven't been to an Expo in over 20 years, what goes on in these pavilions now? Is it anything special that you wouldn't see at an IT fair or the recent SXSW conference in Austin.

I think the world has advanced well beyond the days of Expo 67 in Montreal and Expo 86 in Vancouver. I remember Calgary made a bid for Expo 2005 but lost to Aichi, Japan. I wonder how much that would have changed Calgary. Maybe we would have had that northern bypass highway already instead of chugging along 16th Ave!