Expo 2020 Dubai welcomes kids to explore and learn

DUBAI: Expo 2020 Dubai has resumed Dubai school visits and its popular Young Stars programme, opening up a wealth of learning experiences for children as visits to the most significant global gathering continue to climb.

Expo 2020 Dubai visit numbers reached 11,608,240 as of January 31, spurred by Global Goals Week and Health and Wellness Week, scores of celebrity visits and unmissable concerts from the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Balqees, Guadalupe Pineda and Jacob Collier as well as the launch of Why? The Musical, from renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer A.R. Rahman.

With just 58 days – or eight weekends – left until the final curtain falls on Expo 2020 Dubai, repeat visitation levels soared to 57 per cent in January, with guests seizing the opportunity to enjoy everything the event has to offer before time runs out. A third of all visitors came from abroad, with 10 per cent of those coming from India and Saudi Arabia respectively, six per cent from Germany and five per cent from Russia.

From October 2021 to January 2022, Expo hosted more than 10,000 heads of state, presidents, prime ministers and ministers, including His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, who witnessed the raising of a large Australia flag, flown to the UAE from Parliament House in Canberra, as part of Australia’s National Day celebrations.

Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “This World Expo is a celebration of global cooperation, and is already demonstrating what can be achieved when every one of us comes together today to reimagine the world of tomorrow.

“It is inspiring to see that since 1 October, we have welcomed more than 10,000 visits by leading figures, bringing together a wealth of global experts, business, political and civil society leaders and activists to help Expo 2020 Dubai address the most pressing issues of our time. With an unmissable two months of programming still to come, we are excited for millions more visitors to experience the thousands of inspiring events we have planned.”

The Steering Committee of the College of Commissioner Generals of Expo 2020 Dubai held its fourth event-time meeting this week, during which International Participants expressed their delight at how Expo continued to inspire new perspectives and attract the best and brightest minds from around the world.

Key speakers during the month included Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai advocating for female education at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Women’s Pavilion and Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, who opened Global Goals Week, held outside of New York for the first time.

Sports stars have also been flocking to Expo 2020, including football icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who praised Expo 2020 Dubai for bringing the world together during a Q&A session with fans at Al Wasl Plaza, and former Australian rules footballer Bachar Houli, one of the first Muslim players in the Australian Football League, who held a training session for children at Aussie Park in the Sports, Fitness and Wellbeing Hub.

Expo 2020 also welcomed reigning Open champion and the world’s number two ranked golfer Collin Morikawa; Manchester City and England star Jack Grealish; as well as Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas, who took part in the International Day of Education on 24 January, sharing Real Madrid’s pioneering digital learning platform.

With a slate of other world-class events and activities set for the final two months before Expo 2020 Dubai closes on 31 March, ‘It’s Now or Never’ to be part of the most significant global gathering since the start of the pandemic.

Expo 2020 Dubai’s virtual visitation numbers have crossed 100 million, driven by the diverse entertainment available via Live@Expo as well as extensive coverage of Expo 2020 Dubai’s Programme for People and Planet, while the Black Eyed Peas concert secured 24.4 million virtual visits alone. China and India are among the top countries logging in to view the packed programming, followed by the UAE, the Philippines and Egypt.

With a site around four times the size of Dubai Mall and equivalent to 613 football pitches, and robust health and safety measures in place, Expo 2020 Dubai continues to inspire confidence among visitors, further boosted by the UAE taking the top spot in Bloomberg’s latest COVID Resilience Ranking.

Source: Expo 2020 Website