Dubai Expo 2020 opens main pavilions to the public before October showcase

Visitors can now check out the Expo 2020 pavilions before the show opens in October.

Organisers have opened the thematic pavilions to the public, starting with Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion which opens to the public from January 22 until April 10, 2021.

Alif – The Mobility Pavilion and Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion will follow later in the first quarter of 2021. Visits cost Dhs25 each and will be open five days per week.

Terra (which means ‘Planet Earth’) allows visitors to explore the natural world, including an interactive walk through the roots of a forest, “where every footstep affects the ‘wood-wide-web”. The experience is designed to encourage visitors of all ages, and the younger generation, in particular, to consider how their choices impact the environment. The surrounding public spaces include a children’s playground, gift shop, dining and more.

Terra will remain in legacy as a Science Centre to help drive home the sustainability messaging.

The Terra pavilion, designed by Grimshaw Architects, embodies a sustainable building design ethos. Built to be net-zero for both energy and water, it features 1,055 photovoltaic panels arranged on a 130-metre-wide roof canopy and atop a series of ‘Energy Trees’. The pavilion also uses state-of-the-art water-reduction strategies, water recycling and alternative water sources.

“This period of rapid, unprecedented change has brought with it a pressing need to rethink the way we exist, and is further accelerated by a global health crisis that has touched each individual on Earth,” said Reem Al Hashimy, director-general of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau and UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation. “While 2020 may be remembered as a year that changed us forever, it has also given us a tremendous opportunity to come together as a global society and find answers to our most pressing challenges.

“This remains the focal purpose of Expo 2020 Dubai and the vision of the UAE’s leadership, while our thematic pavilions – Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability – rally the call for collective action to tackle these challenges to create a better future for all humanity.”

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Expo 2020 will welcome more than 200 participants and millions of visitors, with a theme built around sustainability.

“Expo 2020 aims to be one of the most sustainable World Expos in history and supports the UAE’s efforts as a champion of green development, so it is fitting that our first visitors will enjoy a preview of the Sustainability Pavilion – an interactive and personal experience that will highlight the urgency of addressing some of the world’s greatest environmental challenges,” said Marjan Faraidooni, chief experience officer, Expo 2020 Dubai.