An Insight on Dubai Expo 2020
The countdown to Expo 2020 is well and truly on with less than 800 days to go until Dubai opens its doors to over 170 countries. To mark the occasion, Expo 2020 have shared some brand new images and information on where the 4.38km square site, due to open to the world on October 20 2019, is up to.
So where is the site currently up to?
To date, more than a staggering 42 million work hours have been completed on the Expo 2020 site, with around 20,000 workers now onsite. Construction is well advanced on the three Theme Districts that form the core of the Expo site.
Foundations are complete and buildings are continuing to rise.
And all major design elements are complete – the last being the iconic Al Wasl Plaza. The 150-metre wide, 67.5-metre tall domed space will be enjoyed by millions of visitors and feature at the heart of the Expo site.
What exactly is Expo 2020?
An expo is a super-sized exhibition which sees participating nations all come together to exhibit their feats in every sector from industrial to scientific to technological. Expo’s of this scale happen around the globe once every five years, with the Expo 2020 in Dubai the first to be held in the region.
Dubai successfully won the rights to Expo 2020 back in 2013. Expo 2020 will run from October 20 2020 to April 2021.
What’s going to be at the site when it’s complete?
More than 170 countries will be represented at Expo 2020, with the site split into three main Pavilions; Opportunity Pavilion, Mobility Pavilion and Sustainability Pavilion. A UAE Pavilion also features in the main site.
It will be accessed by four different entrances, and sit adjacent to Expo Village. At the centre of the development will be Al Wasl Plaza, and along the plaza you’ll find restaurants, fountains and parks. Over the top will be a 65-metre tall, 150-metre wide dome. The huge dome will transform into a giant screen at the flick of a switch, and will be visible on the translucent screen to those both inside and out of the dome.
What will happen to the site once Expo is over?
Well, it won’t all go to waste that’s for sure. At Cityscape last year, it was revealed that around 80 per cent of the Expo 2020 site will be used as part of District 2020. The area will become a new mega-suburb complete with 65,000 square metres of residential space and 135,000 square metres of commercial space.
Image Credit: Whatson Dubai