Expo 2020 to revive global event industry: Dietmar Schmitz

ABU DHABI / WAM

Expo 2020 Dubai can serve as a role model for future global events in the new normal, to bring people from all over the world together again, according to Germany’s Commissioner General at the world’s greatest show.
Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Dietmar Schmitz said that hosting a global event during a worldwide pandemic requires a lot of planning and the implementation of safety measures. “Expo 2020 Dubai has done an amazing job to enable visitors a safe visit to the event,” he added.
Schmitz added that the pavilion is tailored to present a modern, forward-looking image of Germany to people from the region and visitors from across the globe. “Expo 2020 Dubai is a great opportunity [for that].”
The experience-driven design of the German Pavilion makes it possible to provide comprehensive information about the country’s technical, industrial and cultural capabilities in an appealing and innovative way and to showcase potential solutions related to the Expo’s theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.
Germany is a world leader in the field of sustainability. “It is the place where sustainability was invented, where the energy revolution known as the ‘Energiewende’ was born, and a place where science, industry and large parts of civil society are actively committed to securing a sustainable future,” Schmitz said.
Sustainability is the subject of analysis, research, practice and development in Germany,
which is what the title of the German Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai sets out to convey: Campus Germany.
The campus is a synonym for a place of knowledge, research and interaction — a fitting image for the Expo’s themes and one that visitors from around the globe are able to relate to.
At the pavilion, visitors come across a number of campus-related features. Starting with the “enrolment” process, visitors will queue for an entertaining, surprising, hands-on digital experience at the entrance.
After the ‘induction event’ in the Welcome Hall, visitors enter an exhibition space with 100,000 balls that present statistics about Germany – in the form of a huge ball pit.
Then comes the “curriculum”, which is covered in three labs: energy, future cities and biodiversity. In the darkened Energy Lab, “energy cables” pulsate with energy supply solutions for the future.
In the Future City Lab, visitors become part of an intricate urban landscape that surrounds them. In the Biodiversity Lab, they experience the beauty and vulnerability of nature beneath a suspended installation of magnificent proportions.
In the “grand finale” in the Graduation Hall, the highlight of the pavilion tour, visitors will sit down on one of the more than 100 swinging seats that symbolise the world coming together. They will be tasked with swinging the seats in unison to reflect how great things can be achieved by acting together, showing there is more that unites than divides people.

Based around a campus theme, the German Pavilion focuses on the theme of ‘edutainment’. Friendly, fun and futuristic, the focus is firmly on delivering visitor value.
“[Our pavilion aims to] convey knowledge and foster dialogue, focused on engaging, edutainment-based content. It provides awe-inspiring imagery, fascinating architectural perspectives and high emotional value in the spectacular grand finale at the end of the tour,” Schmitz said.
The concept was invented and implemented by the creative agency Facts and Fiction, which, together with the construction firm NUSSLI Adunic, forms the German Pavilion Consortium.
The fascinating architecture of a vertical campus with its stacked building volumes and shifts between interior and exterior spaces also offers numerous exciting and unexpected perspectives.
“Rather than only having a destructive impact on our planet, humankind has the capacity – thanks to its intelligence and creativity – to put global development back on a positive course if, as the Expo theme suggests, people join forces,” Schmitz said.
Personalised communication is a core feature of the Germany Pavilion and visitors are being welcomed by name in their preferred language when they approach an exhibit.
“This is made possible by IAMU, the visitors’ digital companion for the Germany Pavilion tour, which is hidden in the name tag that every visitor receives when they “enrol” at the start of the tour,” Schmitz said.
Some exhibits will also ask visitors for their views, with questions such as, “Would you agree that we can only tackle climate change by working together?” or “Would you agree that sustainability is one of the major challenges to secure a better future?”. Another important aspect of the exhibition is that it also addresses young visitors. “Whenever a child approaches an exhibit, it will switch to child mode and present child-specific content. There are also exhibits throughout the pavilion that have been specifically developed for children,” Schmitz said. Facts and Fiction teamed up with Armin Maiwald, a key figure in German children’s television, to create this content.
Last but not least, the Culture Lab at the Germany Pavilion features various genres and sessions: dance, visual arts, games, science, sport and music. The centrepiece of the Culture Lab is the stage in the atrium of the pavilion, where there will be something happening every day of Expo 2020.
“The whole team of the German Pavilion feels warmly welcomed in Dubai. The UAE made it very easy for us to settle in and start our Expo journey. We are all very excited for the coming months and look forward to welcoming visitors at Campus Germany,” Schmitz concluded.