Inside Expo

Generally, a World Expo lasts six months. But planning for it can take around a decade. And the impact it makes on a city can last for centuries. 

How do cities carry the memory of such an enormous event? In the second half of our two-part series about Expo legacies, we’ll get a glimpse of a future Dubai where the Expo site is transformed into District 2020, an all-inclusive, smart city, where 80% of Expo’s built environment will be turned into a global innovation hub.

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.

Generally, a World Expo lasts six months. But planning for it can take around a decade. And the impact it makes on a city can last for centuries. 

How do cities carry the memory of such an enormous event? In the first of a two-part series on Expo legacies, we’re bringing you two stories about two very different Expo experiences, one in London and one in Lisbon. They take place more than a century apart, but at their core is Expo’s tradition of harnessing big ambitions.

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.

The Expo 2020 team had to adapt to our new, largely online world. But Virtual Expo isn’t the first time a World Expo revolutionised how it was experienced by audiences. The first visual broadcast of a news event in history took place at the New York’s World’s Fair in 1939. Before its public debut at the New York’s World’s Fair, television broadcasts were confined to experimentation in labs. Today, Expo 2020 Dubai is once again pushing its experience to new heights with Virtual Expo.

 

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.

In 1878, Augustine Mouchot, a Mathematics teacher, exhibited solar technology at the World’s Fair in Paris. Almost 150 years later, Terra, the Sustainability Pavillion at the World Expo, is harnessing solar tech. Learn about the e-forest that makes it possible for Terra to not only generate energy for its entire Pavilion, but push out energy to Expo, and the rest of Dubai and the UAE.

 

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.

When Expo 2020 Dubai embarked on its mission to become the most sustainable World Expo yet, it looked to the world’s oldest innovator for inspiration: nature. In part one of this series, we look at how 3.8 billion years of innovation have been channeled into Terra, the sustainability pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Journey through this marvelous building and learn how it mimics nature to achieve its ambitious goals.

 

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that Expos are one-off events that nations host at random every five years or so. There’s a logic, however, to World Expos - and the source of that logic is the BIE, the Bureau International des Expositions. His Excellency Dimitri Kerkentzes, Secretary-General of the BIE, explains the BIE’s role in organising World Expos, and what goes into making each World Expo different from the last.

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.

With greater global awareness about mental wellness, innovators are finding ways to make help more accessible. In spaces where traditional therapy can be taboo or early intervention for youth is lacking, social entrepreneurs are stepping in and bridging the gap. Expo 2020’s grant program, Expo Live, showcases some of these tangible solutions and propels forward important conversations about the mental health industry.

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.

Just as the finish line was in sight for Expo 2020’s launch, reports of the Covid-19 virus began to dominate the news. The World Expo was postponed until 2021, but the question still remained: how does the World Expo safely bring the world together post-Covid? Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai, takes us behind the scenes as she reflects on the team’s journey.

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai and produced by Kerning Cultures Network.

In the 1960s, people (and World Expos) were obsessed with going to space, to infinity and beyond, to where no human had gone before. Shortly after the moon landing in 1969, however, the focus shifted to our problems here on Earth. Over 50 years later and after the success of the Emirates Mars Mission, Expo 2020 Dubai is bringing back an excitement for space as the next great frontier.

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai, produced by Kerning Cultures Network. 

“When women thrive, humanity thrives.” This is the driving principle behind Expo 2020 Dubai’s Women’s Pavilion - the first of its kind at a World Expo in the 21st century. In this episode, we follow the story of the brave women who fought to establish the first ever Women’s Pavilion at the 1876 Philadelphia World Expo. We’ll see how Expo 2020 Dubai is adding to that rich history by fighting gender inequalities, creating new perspectives, and challenging stereotypes.

This podcast is by Expo 2020 Dubai, produced by Kerning Cultures Network.