The Universal Exhibition is one of the world events that attract the largest number of people. Expo Dubai, which opened its doors on October 1, 2021 on the outskirts of the city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was visited by 350,000 people in the last weekend alone. Since its inauguration, it is estimated that some 20 million individuals of absolutely all nationalities have visited it.
The Expo extends over 500 hectares in the middle of the desert. Several centuries ago, in that same place, there was a town that was a trading point between the inhabitants of Mesopotamia and those of North Africa, according to the ruins found under the dunes.
About an hour from downtown Dubai is the venue under a giant dome in which there are more than 230 pavilions. It is accessed by several routes: the metro is the fastest and most accessible. Because of this, the members of the Dubai Mission to the UAE organized by the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Reality went to visit it by metro.
The departure in this environment is in itself revealing of the economic prosperity of these Emirates. The landscape that can be seen from the subway –which is actually a train because it goes over the highways– is that of the silhouettes cut out on the horizon of several ultra-modern skyscrapers, beaches of giant sheds several kilometers long, buildings and construction sites with heavy machinery in action. Many of these buildings of more than 70 floors that are outlined on the horizon were made by the architect Carlos Ott, highly respected by his colleagues, princes and businessmen of the place.
Going through the entire exhibition is impossible even if you walk from nine in the morning until it closes at ten at night. That is, walking from one end to the other takes more than an hour and a half. In general, there are long lines in front of the pavilions of the participating countries, as is the case in those of Dubai, the UAE itself and the thematic ones.
Leo Barizoni
flag of united arab emirates
A good guide, as Mauro Padula turned out to be, a Uruguayan who works for the Ministry of Tourism in the Uruguay pavilion, was essential to be able to go directly to the most interesting proposals. Just passing the entrance control – identical to that in an airport, with the belt removed and going through a scanner included – and entering the premises without any reference would have been overwhelming for all the members of the mission. We wouldn’t have known where to start.
One of the businessmen who traveled in February with President Luis Lacalle Pou told me before flying here: “Imagine a Rural del Prado, well, that’s a giant.” As a very Uruguayan metaphor it can serve, but the scope of the experience is unmatched.
For example, the case of the Saudi Arabian proposal. The name alone is immediately associated with desert, heat, sand, dryness, high temperatures, dunes without a bush, camels: essentially a dry yellow color where there is thirst. I am mistaken? I know no, that’s the first thing that comes to mind.
However, the Saudi Arabian pavilion takes you by the hand on a tour where green, fresh colors and even humidity abound. To win the prize for the best proposal, they designed a trip through the geographical sensations of their country to achieve their goal: it totally transforms the perception that one has of the kingdom before entering. You even want to go visit it, explore it, bathe in its crystalline freshwater wells, get to know its beaches, cities and smell the perfumes of the abundant vegetation that you see.
If the mission of the pavilions that participate in the Universal Fair is to sell the best of each country, take advantage of the visit of millions of people to position it, change the perception or fix a concept, the Saudis more than achieve it. No one leaves that tour indifferent.
In that same line is the Peruvian pavilion. They won the prize for the best on the continent in a bet on creativity for their good use of cutting-edge visual tools in all its variables. The Incas impress the visitor in the ten minutes that the experience lasts by transmitting the best of Peru: its coast, its jungle and its beloved Andes.
I consider it important to highlight the experience of the Expo’s winning pavilion, which, like that of Peru, invites you to perceive more than to explain. The sound, the lights, even the temperature of the place, the latest generation screens and the use of three-dimensional images that generate something unique prevail.
The Expo Dubai experience is important not only for visitors, but also for countries and their governments. It is a way of being in the world and of being. It is a representation that should show the best of the vision and mission that the world has to play in this 21st century, in which everything is connected.
Leo Barizoni
One of the entrances to Expo Dubai 2022
The tone of the main pavilions visited speaks of the importance of unity, regardless of the continent, the religion that is professed, or political differences. It shows a bet to generate that state of consciousness.
The pattern that is repeated in the best proposals is the unity value of those who are different, care for the environment and, especially, for water. It is something that does not tolerate further delay. For this reason, the advancement of creativity, science, hand in hand with cutting-edge technology, must be available to connect with the best of humanity. That is the way to go. More than ever it is the time for young people, the world is not going to wait even a tenth of a second. Never, as when visiting this avant-garde Universal Fair, I felt that the phrase fit better: “Education, education, education”.
I can think of the proposal from Cambodia, New Zealand, Colombia, Panama, Uganda, Morocco, Afghanistan, Austria and have an impression, an anecdote from each place. Some more thought out than others, others more innovative, with better audiovisual techniques. Some repeating what can be seen in any National Geographic documentary and others, simply going unnoticed in the sea of people who visit it every day, missing an opportunity to stand out in the world.
To conclude, I want to highlight the memory of Israel’s proposal. It is located in the same line as Saudi Arabia, the stands from Dubai and Peru. A dark room surrounded by a circular LED screen with incredible images, where a presenter with the best energy and a live DJ present their vision of the direction and challenges of their country.
They dream of a world where differences are valued as infinite wealth, where what also matters is finding and following each other’s heartbeat. That one that feels inside, whoever you are, wherever you live, believe in what you believe.
