Shanghai World Expo 2010

The first World Expo, or ‘Great Exhibition’ as it was known, took place in London in 1851. Almost 150 years, and $55billion later, the World Expo has reached Shanghai, the location of the largest site in the history of the event. With 260 pavilions and 100 daily activities, the forecasted 70million visitors should find plenty of interest.

‘Better City, Better Life’ is the theme of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, which focuses on the idea of sustainable urban living and addresses the concern that nearly 55% of the world population now live in urban areas. The quest for a better life and the blueprint for future cities and balanced urban lifestyles is the platform for the Shanghai World Expo – itself a feat of technological and cultural richness.

Hundreds of pavilions representing individual countries are participating, from Japan and Hungry to Israel and Taiwan, each with a unique design. The Indian pavilion resembles a Buddhist stupa with a huge dome structure on which there are solar panels, wind power and herb gardens, while Turkey’s pavilion includes a 360-degree movie of Istanbul celebrating its status as capital of culture for 2010.

Contemporary architect Thomas Heatherwick’s 6000 square-metre British pavilion creation resembles an electrified hedgehog with its circle of radiating spines that can move freely in the breeze. The spines are tipped by coloured lights that can be made to form images or messages (sent in by visitors). The structure as a whole, known as the ‘Seed Cathedral’, is suspended around a single square enclosure. Themed ‘Building on the Past, Shaping our future’ the UK pavilion seeks to raise awareness of the Millennium Seed Bank Conservation Project.

As part of a cultural exchange, the famous Little Mermaid statue of Copenhagen is on display in the Harbour Pool in the centre of the Danish pavilion – which visitors can cycle around in true Danish style, and have a picnic on the rooftop - while Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has created a video installation of the Little Mermaid statue at the original site in Copenhagen to further highlight cultural connections.

Entertainment will not be in short supply at the Shanghai World Expo and Zhang Huan, the New York based star of Chinese contemporary performance art will be presenting his debut directing an opera, in an East meets West version of Handel’s ‘Semele’. Huan has interspersed the score with segments of traditional Chinese music and with half the production team and cast Chinese, the show, like everything at the Shanghai World Expo, should be an exhilarating fusion experience.