SHANGHAI, CHINA 2010
Expo 2010, Better City, Better Life

Quick List Info

Dates Open - May 1 to October 31, 2010. 184 days.

Attendance - 73,085,000 total visitors.

International Participants - 246 nations and international organizations. Includes 192 nations.

Total Cost - 11.964 billion yuan operating cost (estimated 1.8 billion dollars). Estimated $48 billion yuan spent on site preparation.

Site Acreage - 1,292 acres (523 hectares).

Sanction and Type - Sanctioned by the Bureau of International Exhibitions on December 3, 2002 as a Universal scale Registered Expo, winning bid over Yeosu (South Korea), Moscow (Russia), Queretaro (Mexico), and Wroclaw (Poland). Final round vote was Shanghai 54, Yeosu 34.

Ticket Cost - Two ticket types: Peak Day (May 1-3, October 1-7) and Standard Day. Pre-Expo, Peak Day ticket was 180 yuan (US $26.37) and a Standard Day ticket was 140 yuan (US $20.49). After Expo Opening Day, Peak Day 200 yuan, Standard Day 160 yuan. 3 day World Expo Pass 400 yuan (US $58.60). 7 day World Expo pass 900 yuan (US $131.84).

Photo top center: Expo Axis and Main Entrance to Expo 2010, 2010, Nicholas Poon. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. Column Top: Expo 2010 Official Bid Document, 2002, Expo Authority. Column Below: Shanghai, China Hotel Guide.

Other Histories of World's Fairs to Check Out

• Quick List of All Expos
  
  1st World's Fair in History
  London 1851
  
  St. Louis 1904
  
  New York 1939-40
  
  New York 1964-65
  
  Montreal 1967
  
  Osaka 1970
  
  Vancouver 1986
  
  Lisbon 1998
  
  

• For more info about the World's Fair Decision Model, development of the model, the study participants, etc. The development is currently being utilized for in-house publishing projects, but is not available for work-for-hire decuments or consulting.


• For More info about the Bureau of International Exhibitions - Sanctioning body for international exposition (world's fairs) headquartered in Paris, France.


• For more info about previous EXPOcheck reports.

History of the Event

When bid documents were being proposed and the Expo Authority of China's bid was stating that an estimated attendance might range from fifty to seventy million people, there were generally two schools of thought. One that it was a bold prediction, seeing that the highest attended expo prior to that, Osaka 1970, only reached 64 million. The second, however, was that with the population of China and Shanghai, as long as ticket prices were kept under control and within reason of enough of China's population, that they would reach it. They did. Seventy-three million people would show up to what was essentially the largest, by acreage, surpassing St. Louis in 1904, and best attended World's Fair in history. There's not much to say beyond congratuations to that.

The roster of participating nations was an impressive lot, one hundred and ninety-two total. With the international organizations, nearly two hundred and fifty participants with a world view came. It should not have been a surprise. With the emerging economy of the billion Chinese populace, this World's Fair could not be missed. Even the United States, which had been absent at recent events due to a belief that the Cold War ended the need for participation, because Democracy and Capitalism would win out on its own, participated. Perhaps they were beginning to rethink the notion that Capitalism combined with Communism should not get free reign to convince emerging nations of its merits. China spent so much money between rehabbing the site and running the fair, nearly $50 billion total, that it intended to influence world perception. It did.

Above photo. Singapore Pavilion at Expo 2010, original source unknown. Courtesy Pinterest. Below: USA Pavilion, 2010, Micah Sittig. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons.



Five theme pavilions were built; Urban Footprints, Urban Planet, Urbanian, City Being, and Urban Future.

Numerous corporate pavilions dotted the site; Aurora Pavilion, Broad Pavilion, China Railway, China State Shipbuilding Corporation Pavilion, Coca-Cola Pavilion, Cisco Pavilion, Information and Communication Pavilion, Oil Pavilion, Japanese Industry, PICC, Private Enterprises Joint Pavilion, Republic of Korea Business, SAIC-GM Pavilion, Shanghai Corporate Joint Pavilion, Space Pavilion, Space Home Pavilion, State Grid and Vanke Pavilion.

Although since the fair authority was essentially a government agency and the funds for urban development entwined within the fabric of the financials, it has been reported that the fair made $1 billion yuan in profit ($157 million). No matter what the true number was, it was a spectacular achievement by almost any standard: international participation, attendance, urban renewal, you pick your favorite.

News Headlines

"China Rules the World at Expo 2010" - Atlantic Monthly.

"Shanghai Expo 2010 Turns Spotlight on Nations" - New York Times

"Awe Inspiring Seed Cathedral Wows at Shanghai World Expo 2010" - Treehugger.com

Sources: 2010shanghaiworldexpo.org; China Daily; Official Bid Documents Bureau of International Expositions; BIE-paris.org; http://greatwalladventure.com.

BIE Universal Expo

International Participants

France, Ukraine, Bahrain, Mali, Cambodia, Canada, Mauritania, Algeria, Republic of the Congo, Hungary, Switzerland, New Zealand, Central African Republic, Cuba, Zambia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Lesotho, Uzbekistan, Eritrea, Monaco, Seychelles, Burundi, Armenia, Togo, Comoros, Netherlands, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Equatorial Guinea, Pakistan, Cape Verde, Nepal, Spain, Vanuatu, Egypt, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Benin, Samoa, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Australia, Djibouti, Italy, Papua New Guinea, Germany, Albania, Dominica, Ivory Coast, Angola, Turkey, Philippines, Bolivia, Luxembourg, Tanzania, Croatia, Palau, Senegal, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Laos, Rwanda, Tonga, Montenegro, Yemen, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago, Lithuania, Kenya , Morocco, Federated States of Micronesia, Costa Rica, Japan, Gabon, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Moldova, Cameroon, India, Belarus, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, Portugal, South Korea, Russia, Serbia, Tunisia, Greece, Czech Republic, Uruguay, Sierra Leone, Finland, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Romania, Ireland, Brunei, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Argentina, Cyprus, Lebanon, Peru, Chile, Uganda, Georgia, Thailand, Guyana, Ethiopia, Austria, Fiji, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Haiti, Iraq, Jamaica, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Denmark, Oman, Sweden, Chad, Cook Islands, San Marino, Somalia, Iran, Maldives, Ghana, Suriname, Ecuador, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Norway, Venezuela, United Arab Emirates, Syria, North Korea, Mexico, Grenada, Botswana, Jordan, Slovakia, Niue, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nicaragua, Estonia, South Africa, Libya, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Israel, Brazil, Malta, Iceland, Marshall Islands, Qatar, Malawi, Antigua and Barbuda, El Salvador, Slovenia, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Timor-Leste, Latvia, Bahamas, Panama, Paraguay, Liechtenstein, Honduras, Nauru, Belize, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Colombia, Gambia, United States, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan

Note: List of participating nations is ordered by acceptance of participation.

Expo Tidbits
On 16 October 2010, the expo set a single-day record of over 1.03 million visitors.

A population of 9.33 million lived within 20 km (12 miles) of site, 16 million within 50 km (30 miles), 138 million within 300 km (180 miles) and 365 million within 600 km (360 miles).

The mascot for Expo 2010 was Haibao, meaning treasure of the sea. It was based on the Chinese character for man.

On December 28, 2001, the Chinese government gave their full backing the project in a letter to the Bureau of International Expositions. Gallop polled in November 2001 showed that public support for the expo was 90% of Chinese residents, including 93% in Shanghai.

Legacies
Shanghai's expo site was an urban plan for a new cultural and commercial part of the city. It is now known as Expo Park. The China Pavilion, now the China Art Palace, as well as other buildings have been reopened as museums, including the World Expo Museum that discusses the history of world's fairs. The Expo Cultural Center is now the Mercedes Benz Arena, holding 18,000. On the underground floor of the arena is also Century Star Skating. The Italian Pavilion is now the Shanghai Italy Center. The Saudia Arabia Pavilion, which drew over four million during expo, is now known as Moon Boat. Expo Park has also hosted the Strawberry and JZ Music Festivals.

Those in Charge

Shanghai World Expo Organising Committee was set up by the Chinese government to run the exposition.


Photo column top: Flags of the nations in front of the China Pavilion, near the South Entrance, 2010. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. Bottom: Fireworks on Opening Night, 2010, Stefan Geens. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons.