EXPO CITY

Expo 2020 closed its doors at the end of April 2022. Long live Expo City, which has now taken over, allowing all those who didn't have the chance to visit the Expo to discover this majestic site, with its magnificent Al Wasl Plaza at the center, which means "connection" in Arabic, a place for meetings and exchanges where concerts and shows take place regularly. The program is online on the website.

This heart of the Expo is well worth a visit in the evening, when it is decked out in a thousand colors. Designed by the American firm Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture, the incredible dome is 130 metres in diameter and 67 metres high. Its architecture was inspired by the Expo logo, a 4,000-year-old ring found at the Saruq Al Hadeed archaeological site in the Dubai desert. The iron lattice structure conceals 200 projectors, offering the world's largest 360° projection surface for an immersive experience, visible from inside and out. It's a true technological feat. Also worth a visit are the three themed pavilions, which bring together the major issues at stake in "connecting minds, building the future":

Opportunity: it explores ways of unleashing the potential of individuals and communities, and questions the possibilities of offering equitable, quality education and inclusive growth while enabling the reduction of inequalities. It highlights the hope of new industries and the challenge of good governance in tomorrow's world. Designed by AGi Architects, the pavilion is inspired by the rich history of public squares and their universal significance as gathering places for people of all ages, languages and cultures. Made from natural materials, it features 2,500 tonnes of stone and 111 kilometers of rope. Inside, there are three highlights. The first is to follow 3 mentors, Abel, Mama and Fatma, whose actions have an impact on their communities in the areas of food, water and energy. Another will allow you to take part in an international mission, and the last one invites you to explore a thousand ways of creating a better future for yourself, others and the planet. A good way to realize that every gesture counts, and that it's the little streams that make the big rivers. The pavilion also sheds light on the 17 UN goals, such as education, access to water and gender equality.

Mobility: this theme reflects on the material and virtual connections between goods, people and ideas. Not only do we explore the new transport and travel of tomorrow, but also digital connectivity and logistics. Designed by architecture firm Forster & Partners, the pavilion houses the world's largest elevator, with a capacity to accommodate 160 people at a time. After exploring the history of mobility, through the discovery of the inventors of means of transport on earth and in space, we discover the cities of tomorrow driven by artificial intelligence, big data and robotics for travel in autonomous vehicles. Several workshops enable visitors to design their own spaceship or robot, and discover a hyperloop capsule in motion or a solar-powered tricycle. Before heading out, you can even have your photo taken as an astronaut conquering space.

Sustainability: a major area of current discussion between scientists, governments and NGOs, it naturally finds its place in this exhibition. Resources, climate change, green growth, ecosystems, as well as green cities and sustainable habitats are all explored. In November 2023, it hosted COP 28, the ^28th United Nations climate conference. Designed by British firm Grimshaw Architects, the pavilion has been awarded the highest level of accreditation for sustainable architecture, LEED Platinum certification. It takes the form of an immense 130-meter-wide canopy, covered with 1,055 solar panels that can generate up to 4 gigawatts per year. Inside this magnificent edifice, you can immerse yourself in two universes: under the oceans and under the forest. An immersive experience punctuated by scientific data, providing a very concrete understanding of our Earth's fragile balance. The two universes come together in a space that explores several avenues of reflection for a different world. Highly educational, the pavilion is teeming with ideas, questioning the way we live, consume and behave. Under the canopy, three renowned Emirati artists, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Zainab Al-Hashemi and Mohamed Kazem, depict the interaction between man and nature through their art. A pavilion much appreciated by the children.

In 2023, the ^28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), known as COP28, assessed and steered progress in the fight against climate change. Expo City Dubai - a state-of-the-art "green" destination that welcomed the world for the six months of the Expo - shares COP28's objectives of achieving sustainability and promoting all positive actions in favor of climate security.