Expo Dubai 2020 continues a grand tradition of international exhibitions 

People walk towards the Sustainability Pavilion, a week ahead of its public opening, at the Dubai Expo 2020 in Dubai on January 16, 2021. (AFP)
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Updated 01 September 2021
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Expo Dubai 2020 continues a grand tradition of international exhibitions 

  • World Expos are viewed as a powerful tool for cultural expression and economic development
  • Saudi pavilion holds three Guinness World Records before Expo Dubai 2020 has even opened

DUBAI: Although the term mega event had not yet been coined, there is no question that the first-ever World Expo at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851 was just that. The Great Exhibition was a high-profile spectacle that changed the face of the Victorian capital and captivated the world.

Such was the success of this inaugural World Expo that a grand tradition of international exhibitions, hosted by different cities around the world, was born.

To this day, World Expos are considered a powerful tool for cultural expression and economic development, their impact felt for decades after in the form of trade and diplomatic exchanges.

World Expos are also widely recognized for their architectural legacy. Host nations often invest huge sums in infrastructure projects, vying with one another for signature structures. The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris was famously unveiled as the centerpiece of the French-hosted 1889 Exposition Universelle.

In 1893, the organizing committee for the World Expo in Chicago was deeply concerned about how to out-Eiffel Eiffel, leading to some truly fringe concepts. One of the suggested designs for Chicago’s signature structure was a replica of the globe spanning 300 meters (the height of the Eiffel Tower), and a scale model of one of explorer Christopher Columbus’ ships.

Another concept called for the construction of a towering spire three kilometers in height — more than three times taller than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa — from which a network of elevated rails would connect Chicago to other cities, including New York, and Boston. Needless to say, the concept was not approved.

The enormous popularity of the Eiffel Tower triggered fierce competition. But although the tower is perhaps the most enduring icon of World Expo architecture, its construction was not without controversy.

In 1886, just three years before the Exposition Universelle was scheduled to coincide with the centenary of the French Revolution, the organizing committee put out a call for design proposals for a fitting Parisian monument.




In addition to architectural wonders, Expo 2020 Dubai promises a host of cultural encounters, debuting the first Emirati opera and a range of public artworks spread across the site. (Emirates News Agency)

One of these proposed building a 300-meter guillotine, a grisly reference to the regicidal excesses of the French Revolution. The idea was predictably rejected and the concept for what would become the world’s tallest structure of its day was given the go-ahead.

Originally derided as a “tragic streetlamp” by many of the French cultural elite, the Eiffel Tower turned out to be exceptionally popular among visitors.

The structure was supposed to be torn down 20 years after the Expo, but during World War I it proved to be an excellent radio transmitter in support of the French war effort. Today, the Eiffel Tower is the most visited monument in the world.

With World Expos growing in scale and ambition, they nurtured global curiosity about distant and exotic nations. As the number of visitors touched millions, the cultural and ideological influence of World Expos had become palpably manifest.




The Saudi Arabia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai under construction. (Shutterstock/File Photo)

At the 1937 World Expo in Paris, the pavilions of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany offered two very different responses to the theme of modern life. The two pavilions — designed by, respectively, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler’s favorite architects — even faced one another in a kind of microcosmic standoff between two totalitarian regimes.

The German architect had somehow managed to lay his hands on the design specifications for the Soviet pavilion in advance and used them to literally one-up the Soviets, making the Nazi pavilion taller and more imposing.

The perceived confrontation between the two powers was widely interpreted by the media as representative of Europe’s secret hope that war could be averted if the two regimes could be pitted against one another. History, of course, tells a different story.

By the 1958 World Expo in Brussels, it was the US and the Soviet Union’s turn to face off in a game of Cold War brinkmanship. Tensions were high, but the exhibition offered a rare opportunity for direct contact when 16,000 Soviet citizens travelled to the West for the event.




General aerial view of Terra - The Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai (Photo by Dany Eid/Expo 2020 Dubai)

As part of its strategy to weaken communist influence, America’s Central Intelligence Agency commissioned a special Russian-language print run of Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago, set against the backdrop of the Bolshevik revolution, and partnered with the Vatican pavilion to distribute copies. In the pavilion, called Civitas Dei (City of God), the secret book was pressed into the hands of Soviet visitors.

The CIA considered the mission a success. However, Pasternak had not been informed of the plan or its execution and was none too happy about it, especially since the CIA edition was littered with errors. However, the operation may have helped pave the way for Pasternak to win the Nobel Prize for literature.

For visitors, experiential and immersive attractions often constitute the core of the World Expo experience. At the New York World’s Fair in 1939, Spanish artist Salvador Dali designed a surrealist funhouse called Dream of Venus intended to counter the fair’s focus on progress and modernity.

One critic said: “The world of machines, cars, and robots had been replaced — or should one say challenged — by a universe of dreams where one could feel a sense of decadence which no doubt clashed with the proposed cleanliness, order, and clarity of the surroundings. What one saw in the pavilion, in fact, was blurred, confusing, not clear at all.”




Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio (2nd R) and Florence mayor Dario Nardella (R) attend a ceremony at the Italian pavillion at Expo 2020 Dubai. (AFP/File Photo)

The pavilion would have been even more confusing had Dali’s original plan been approved, which included live giraffes that would have been exploded as a part of the exhibit. Fortunately for the giraffes, the cruel spectacle was never allowed to happen.

The upcoming World Expo in Dubai, which opens on Oct. 1, has already unveiled its signature structure — its Eiffel for the Emirates, as it were — in the form of the awe-inspiring Al-Wasl dome, which will be used to create immersive shows, projections, and performances.

The UAE pavilion has been designed to look like a falcon at rest, complete with movable wings, while the Saudi pavilion, the largest of all participating nations, holds three Guinness World Records: For the largest LED mirror screen display, the largest interactive floor, and the longest water exhibit.




A night view of the Terra-Sustainability Pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020 site. (Supplied)

In addition to architectural wonders, Expo 2020 Dubai promises a host of cultural encounters, debuting the first Emirati opera and a range of public artworks spread across the site. The Arab tradition of storytelling will be integrated into every experience and will connect visitors from around the globe.

Over a period of 182 days, the first World Expo to take place in the Arab world will tell the region’s story and create its own piece of Expo legacy. And hopefully, true to Expo style, there will be a few surprises thrown in too.

 


US believes Israel, Lebanon have agreed terms to end Israel-Hezbollah conflict

Updated 40 min 32 sec ago
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US believes Israel, Lebanon have agreed terms to end Israel-Hezbollah conflict

WASHINGTON: Israel and Lebanon have agreed to the terms of a deal to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, Axios reported on Monday citing an unnamed senior US official.
Israel’s government on Monday said it was moving toward a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah but there were still outstanding issues.


Arrest Warrant: UK would follow ‘due process’ if Netanyahu were to visit – foreign minister

Updated 51 min 52 sec ago
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Arrest Warrant: UK would follow ‘due process’ if Netanyahu were to visit – foreign minister

  • ICC issued arrest warrants on Thursday against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Several EU states have said they will meet commitments under the statute if needed

FIUGGI: Britain would follow due process if Benjamin Netanyahu visited the UK, foreign minister David Lammy said on Monday, when asked if London would fulfil the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister.
“We are signatories to the Rome Statute, we have always been committed to our obligations under international law and international humanitarian law,” Lammy told reporters at a G7 meeting in Italy.
“Of course, if there were to be such a visit to the UK, there would be a court process and due process would be followed in relation to those issues.”
The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes against humanity.
Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.
“The states that signed the Rome convention must implement the court’s decision. It’s not optional,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.
Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said.

 

 


Turkiye man kills seven before taking his own life

Updated 25 November 2024
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Turkiye man kills seven before taking his own life

Istanbul: A 33-year-old Turkish man shot dead seven people in Istanbul on Sunday, including his parents, his wife and his 10-year-old son, before taking his own life, the authorities reported on Monday.
The man, who was found dead in his car shortly after the shooting, is also accused of wounding two other family members, one of them seriously, the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement.
The authorities, who had put the death toll at four on Sunday evening, announced on Monday the discovery near a lake on Istanbul’s European shore of the bodies of the killer’s wife and son, as well as the lifeless body of his mother-in-law.
According to the Small Arms Survey (SAS), a Swiss research program, over 13.2 million firearms are in circulation in Turkiye, most of them illegally, for a population of around 85 million.


2 Palestinians killed in Israeli raid in West Bank: PA

Updated 25 November 2024
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2 Palestinians killed in Israeli raid in West Bank: PA

  • The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli forces entered the village on Sunday night

Yabad: The Palestinian Authority said two Palestinians, including a teenage boy, were killed during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank village of Yabad.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli forces entered the village on Sunday night, leading to clashes during which soldiers shot dead two Palestinians.
The two dead were identified by the Palestinian health ministry as Muhammad Rabie Hamarsheh, 13, and Ahmad Mahmud Zaid, 20.
“Overnight, during an IDF (Israeli army) counterterrorism activity in the area of Yabad, two terrorists hurled explosives at IDF soldiers. The soldiers responded with fire and hits were identified,” an Israeli military source told AFP.
Last week, the Israeli army launched several raids in the West Bank city of Jenin, killing nine people, most of them Palestinian militants.
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 last year after Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 777 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.
Palestinian attacks on Israelis have also killed at least 24 people in the West Bank in the same period, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.


Israel says hit Hezbollah command center in deadly weekend strike

Updated 25 November 2024
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Israel says hit Hezbollah command center in deadly weekend strike

  • The strike hit a residential building in the heart of Beirut before dawn Saturday
  • Since September 23, Israel has intensified its Lebanon air campaign

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army on Monday said it had struck a Hezbollah command center in the downtown Beirut neighborhood of Basta in a deadly air strike at the weekend.
“The IDF (Israeli military) struck a Hezbollah command center,” the army said regarding the strike that the Lebanese health ministry said killed 29 people and wounded 67 on Saturday.
The strike hit a residential building in the heart of Beirut before dawn Saturday, leaving a large crater, AFP journalists at the scene reported.
A senior Lebanese security source said that “a high-ranking Hezbollah officer was targeted” in the strike, without confirming whether or not the official had been killed.
Hezbollah official Amin Cherri said no leader of the Lebanese movement was targeted in Basta.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified its Lebanon air campaign, later sending in ground troops against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The war followed nearly a year of limited exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas after the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the Gaza war.
The conflict has killed at least 3,754 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September this year.
On the Israeli side, authorities say at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed.