Expo 2020 Dubai showcases UAE, Arab world’s role in advancing human progress

Giant photo-realistic sculptures, the world’s largest elevating platform and highlights of the UAE’s space program are among the attractions set to feature at Alif – The Mobility Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

With the opening ceremony just a day away, visitors will get the chance to travel through time and space from 4,500-year-old trading settlement Saruq Al Hadid – the location where the ancient ring that inspired Expo 2020’s logo was discovered – to a virtual city

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The pavilion showcases the pivotal role the UAE and the entire Arab world has played, and continues to play, in advancing human progress.

Visitors are transported on the world’s largest elevating platform to the House of Wisdom in ninth-century Baghdad, before encountering the Giants of Mobility – nine-meter-tall figures from the Golden Age of Arab Civilization, including navigator Ibn Majid and celebrated explorer Ibn Battuta, who helped drive forward global mobility throughout the centuries.

Central to the story of mobility is the role that Dubai and the UAE have long played in connecting people on a global scale. Visitors are shown the progress the UAE has made in the past 50 years, especially in mobility-related fields such as airlines, logistics, and smart cities, extending into the solar system through the UAE’s space program and the Hope Mission to Mars.

Visitors can also witness displays of state-of-the-art transportation devices, before enjoying mobility-related performances, events, symposiums and demonstrations at the pavilion’s plaza.

The pavilion was designed by award-winning British architectural design and engineering firm Foster + Partners, with a ribbed, curved shape that evokes movement, while its stainless-steel cladding, inspired by chrome fenders and aircraft wings, reflects movement from surrounding areas.

World-renowned musicians set to take the stage

On Thursday, world-renowned classical musicians and chart-topping pop stars will come together for the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai as a host of global stars raise the roof at the opening ceremony for the world’s greatest show.

Celebrated Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will lead the line-up at the iconic al-Wasl Plaza on 30 September.

Bocelli, who has sold more than 90 million records worldwide, will be joined by an array of global stars: British popstar Ellie Goulding, internationally acclaimed Chinese pianist Lang Lang, four-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo and Golden Globe-winning actress, singer and songwriter Andra Day.

Highlighting the creative diversity and talent of the region, the electrifying event will also feature Hussain al-Jassmi, Expo 2020 Dubai Ambassador and a trendsetter on the Gulf music scene; much-loved Emirati singing sensation Ahlam al-Shamsi; rising UAE singer Almas; the ‘Artist of the Arabs’ Mohammed Abdu; and Grammy-nominated Lebanese-American singer-songwriter Mayssa Karaa.

Spectators will enjoy stunning visuals, music and performances as some of the world’s most creative minds, internationally renowned artists and emerging talents come together in an unforgettable extravaganza of entertainment that will be shared with audiences around the world.

Expo 2020 Dubai, which will begin on October 1, is set to be the world’s biggest cultural gathering, with more than 60 live events every day and hundreds of cultural and culinary experiences for 182 consecutive days.

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