Culture is future » Territorial attractiveness and social cohesion

Always Further - Expo, a festival of cultural events!

International exhibitions are often a showcase for latest technical innovations. New technologies pave the way for new creations: like Expo, true festival of cultural events.

Shanghai Expo has built up 32 sites for performances, indoor, outdoor or even above the water. This “Festival of Culture” allowed the 220 000 spectators coming each day to choose among a large program of 100 shows, without planning anything.

The participating nations – more than 200 – have also shown great passion, presenting over 800 performances. Most shows were an tribute to their country  like the Spanish National Ballet. In Shanghai, artists have even made their debut outside their home country, touring for the first time in the world or in Asia. Others shows, such as the Cirque du Soleil, where arranged outside the Canada pavilion, specially for spectators waiting in queue. No wonder that cultural offers have become really important. According to the study “Expo 200 Hanover in Numbers”, directed by Tjaco Walvis, improving national images has become the primary goal of 73% of the countries at Expo Hanover in 2000. How can we better than with culture provide a living and memorable image of a country, while making the experience of the visit still emotionally and intellectually stronger?

Finally, the Expo has become an cheaper and more efficient opportunity for promoters who are looking for new productions. They can see in one place performances from all continents, observing how they are received by the local audience. For example, Shanghai Municipal Performance Company (SMPC) has contracted ten performances discovered at the Nation Pavilion Day’s stage.

The next Expo will be held in 2012 (Korea) and 2015 (Milan). Get ready for the next celebration of culture!

A contribution of the ESC Dijon/Chenlin Zhao

Credits: The USA Pavilion Welcomes The Philadelphia Orchestra To Expo 2010 Shanghai - MeiGuoGuan (US Pavilion)