Expo2020 Dubai

What Is The Expo2020?

One of the oldest international events on Earth - World Expos. Every five years, a festival lasting six months is held for all, creating innovative experiences and a lot of fun moments for everyone.

Expo 2020 was a World Expo hosted in Dubai. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Expo ran from 1st October 2021 to 31st March 2022, still keeping its name Expo 2020 for marketing purposes.

Being the first ever Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, it housed 192 nations from around the world. The theme, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” aimed to inspire people by displaying global collaboration and cooperation.

Themes

The Expo area is divided into three districts: Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility - the three subthemes derived from the main theme.

Sustainability District

Walking around the Sustainability District, complete with solar energy trees, you’ll experience some of the world’s most advanced technology in action, and learn about the incredible efforts countries are engaging to achieve the future of sustainability.

The main pavilion, the Terra Pavilion, explored the forest roots and the deep oceans, getting people to think about the preservation and maintenance of the planet for future generations.

Top Country Pavilions

• Singapore

• Brazil

• Spain

Opportunity District

“Creating a better world!” - that’s the goal, right? Learning from people, perspectives and purpose, the Opportunity District reviews this desire to grow and learn from the world.

Mission Impossible - the aptly named main pavilion, unleashes the potential within countries. Meet and learn from people worldwide and look into the aspirations of tomorrow, empowering and unlocking futuristic changes.

Top Country Pavilions

• US

• Latvia

• UK

Mobility District

Explore the limitless connections through mobility and scenes that motivate human progress. This area searches to transform people, cultures, exchange of ideas, and expression of knowledge.

Alif, the pavilion of the district, stands to review the everchanging technological developments in space exploration and innovative mobility devices. Plus, take an exciting ride on an autonomous vehicle.

Top Country Pavilions

• Thailand

• Botswana

• Republic of Korea

Mascots

While at Expo, five mascots could be spotted through the area. There’s Latifa and Rashid, the brother and sister duo and there are the three guide robots: Opti, Alif, and Terra, representing the three subthemes and districts at Expo2020.

Another mascot introduced was Salama, the wise Ghaf tree. Under Salama's watchful eye, Latifa and Rashid go on an exciting journey guided by the robots Opti, Alif, and Terra.

Eight-year-old Latifa just loves a good challenge. Her wit and immeasurable passion for technology help her find a wise and logical solution to any challenge. Her brother, Rashid, is a nine-year-old boy with a courageous spirit and vivid imagination that helps them on their journey.

Opti, a guardian of the Opportunity District (and my favourite of the three robots), is always surrounded by hope and opportunity. 

Next, we have Terra, the guardian of the Sustainability District. She is definitely sharp as a tack. While being highly loyal and protective, you do not want to get on her bad side, especially when she turns invisible.

Last but not least, Alif, the shape-shifting guardian of the Mobility District and self-appointed leader of the guardians is extremely reliable and cosmic.

TOP TEN PAVILIONS

10. India

This four-floor pavilion holds a lot of culture and experiences through the years and the legacy and future of the country. You can also get a virtual photo with the infamous prime minister.

9. USA

Moving through the years, we see the development of the States and where it’s going. Seeing life-like models and sights of the US, you just go where the floor takes you.

8. Luxembourg

Taking shape of the infinite loop or a Mobius ribbon, you can view their ideas of openness and futuristic ideas. Not in the mood for stairs? Take a slide that sends you to the ground floor. Innovation at its best.

7. Pakistan

At this multistorey pavilion, you get a glimpse into the cultural diversity and beautiful nature. It definitely proves to be an undiscovered gem.

6. South Korea

The developments of science and technology in South Korea can be experienced through an immersive augmented reality display. It’s also famed for its outside tent-like structure which burns bright red and yellow during the day and flourishes the evening with a cool burst of blue and pink.

5. UK

The intriguing face of the building is covered with LED blocks of words to form a poem generated by an AI. The AI uses a machine learning algorithm to collate the words submitted by exhibition visitors.

4. Saudi Arabia

The second largest pavilion at Expo2020 is full of things to see and do. Of course, the prime feature is the interactive water feature, which is always a selfie sight, as expected.

3. Singapore

The infamous standing pavilion is known for its three-dimensional greenery and rooftop experience, upholding a vision of sustainability and environmental care.

2. UAE

No visit to Expo 2020 would be complete without visiting the UAE pavilion. And living up to expectations was a wondrous walk through the sand dunes of the nation's past, present, and future.

        1. Japan

Its origami-based architecture draws the eye, looking not only humble and minimalistic, but inspirational. As exceptional as it is, the wait time for this pavilion is about two to three hours.

Expo Passport

A must-have souvenir for Expo2020 visitors, the vibrant and customizable yellow passport was exceptionally received by millions, collecting stamps from the 192 nation pavilions and the other pavilions and pop-up stamps too.

The 50-page booklet also contains designs of the three Thematic Pavilions, as well as Al Wasl Plaza, plus other Dubai landmarks, such as the city’s iconic skyline.

Along with the help of Kirsten Rebello, we've managed to collect all country pavilion stamps and more. This design is now available on my Redbubble store: 

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Conclusion

Although I didn’t get a chance to visit all the pavilions for the time I was there, it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, running around and collecting as many stamps as possible. I did get in my exercise for the year, walking through pavilion after pavilion, learning, embracing, and working my way through all the districts.

Looking forward to visiting the next Expo in 2025, in Japan.