Monaco at Dubaï expo 2020

04/10/2021
The universal exhibition will take place from 1 October, 2021 to 1 March, 2022 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates around the theme: Connecting minds, building the future, and three sub-themes: Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility.
It is located in a vast area of 438 hectares, halfway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and organized around a central square called «Alwasi» (Connection in Arabic), surrounded by three large pavilions called districts, each dedicated to one of the sub-themes.


The presence of Monaco

Monaco will of course be present at this event, its pavilion with a surface of 1,770 m2, for a cost of around 12 million euros, is located in the district «Opportunity» and has the theme: Monaco 360°. This theme comes from the desire to show the world that Monaco brings together talents in all fields, from medicine to art, through research, security and innovation.
It should be noted that 190 countries will present a pavilion and that 25 million visitors are expected during this event, including 1.25 million expected on the Monegasque pavilion, It is therefore a fantastic showcase for the Principality which will be able to present its areas of competence and preference and encourage visitors to come and invest, treat themselves or have fun.
What will we see in this pavilion?

This pavilion is divided into two zones:
The first is an area of scenography where the public will be able to observe different stations with, for example, a station dedicated to the scientific center of Monaco that deals with corals or studies on penguins, another station is dedicated to the digital transition, and another station will explain how the work was carried out to build the Mareterra extension. Other stations evoke culture with the theatre, the philharmonic orchestra… Finally, the upper floor will be a conference space, with the presence of the Monegasque Fashion Room, the Compagnie Monégasque de Banque (CMB), fashion shows organized by Pauline Ducruet, under its brand «Alter Designs».
The second area is a large patio where it is possible to organize cocktails, lunches, and dinners as well as a shop that will offer limited series of products for sale.
This Monegasque pavilion will be animated by 50 young people aged 18 to 28, from Monaco and neighbouring specially recruited for the duration of the exhibition. They will be in charge of hosting the various foreign delegations, of running the shop of articles and gifts, of managing the kitchen and the catering area, of administering the technical zone (screens, microphones, lighting...)
What about the pavilion at the end of the exhibition?

The construction of this pavilion required 97 tons of steel and 1055m3 of concrete. The roof of the building has 74 photovoltaic panels and its facade, polygonal, has 100. 
It was of course out of the question for Monaco to allow such a building to be destroyed, and a very ambitious recycling target of 80% of the materials was set. To do this, the steel will be recovered and recycled. The photovoltaic panels will be recovered by the Société Monégasque de l'électricité et du gaz (SMEG) for reuse. Finally, in order not to have to throw at the end of the exhibition, the organizers rented a lot of materials.

For 170 years, World Expos have provided a platform to showcase the greatest innovations that have shaped the world we live in today. Expo 2020 will continue that tradition with the latest technology from around the globe.
Some monuments built for universal exhibitions survived and became emblematic.