In a huge ceremony, the Crown Prince of Dubai opened, on Thursday, the "Expo 2020" exhibition, which was postponed for a whole year due to the Corona pandemic.
Dubai Crown Prince, Hamdan bin Mohammed, said, "Today the whole world meets on the land of the United Arab Emirates. Today, we witness together a new start. With God's blessing, we open Expo 2020 Dubai."
192 countries are participating in the exhibition, according to local media, while the opening ceremony witnessed various Emirati, Arab and international artistic performances, accompanied by the use of dazzling lighting.
Dubai is hosting the Expo for the first time in the Middle East, which is expected to be the largest event in the region, with an estimated 25 million visitors over six months.
The first World Exposition was held in London in 1851 at the Crystal Palace, and in Paris, the 1889 Exposition revealed the Eiffel Tower.
Visitors to the exhibition will be required to submit a vaccination certificate or a negative COVID-19 test result. They will also have to wear masks and adhere to the rules of social distancing.
The UAE is one of the countries that carried out an intensive and rapid vaccination campaign for its residents, with twenty million doses, while the population is ten million.
While the exhibition is still on, the UAE will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary.
Issues and exhibits
Among the exhibits at Expo Dubai are a Chinese robot in the form of a panda, a pharaonic sarcophagus in the Egyptian pavilion, and a capsule for a journey into the future.
"Theme weeks" will also be organized which will focus on various issues such as climate, biodiversity, space, rural and urban development, among others.
China has one of the largest pavilions in the exhibition, with an area of 4,636 square meters.
Morocco has set up its pavilion, committed to environmental standards, while the Dutch pavilion has a pyramid-shaped farm containing edible plants irrigated with rainwater generated through solar energy.
Israel is participating in the exhibition, in a new step on the road to consolidating relations between the UAE and Israel, which signed an agreement to normalize their relations a year ago.
The European Parliament passed a resolution this month calling on member states to boycott the fair due to the "imprisonment of human rights activists and "inhuman" practices towards migrant workers.
The UAE rejected the decision, and said in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, "We strongly reject the allegations contained in the text, which were previously addressed and rejected as incorrect."
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