World Briefs

Nepal in Expo 2000

With much less than expected visitor turnout, organizers of this biggest ever international exposition are pinning hopes on school vacations. How is Nepal's participation in the expo going on? Pramesh pradhan reports from Hannover

The biggest exposition in human history since its inception in 1851 in London, Expo 2000 has kicked off with the motto of Humankind–Nature–Technology in the biggest fair ground in the world i.e. the northern German city of Hannover.

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Pramesh Pradhan

A hundred and fifty eight nations including Nepal, United Nations and most of the world bodies are participating and presenting themselves for 153 days of the exposition, which is to end on 31st October 2000. Eleven thematic presentations regarding humankind, environment, basic needs, nutrition, health, energy, mobility, work, knowledge, planet of visions and 21st century are being exhibited in an area covering more than 100,000 square metres. Pavilions made from recycled paper, wood and other natural material have turned the expo into environmentally friendly architectural achievements. Several concerts, appealing restaurants, expo shops, ropeways, world’s largest mobile screen, gigantic television screens, discos and every type of required service have made the expo ever-interesting. A presentation of water fountains, high walls of water becoming projection screens for
pictures and films (flambee), at the expo lake every night are something spectacular to see where latest state-of-the-art techniques are being demonstrated. Even after attending for a whole week, the writer missed some parts because of its enormous size. The pavilions of China, The Netherlands, Hungary, Venezuela, Bhutan, Japan, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada and
Korea are the ones certainly not to be missed. The absence of United States, which pulled out of the Expo 2000 due to financial reasons, has been felt badly.

There has been an anxious world attention on the expo and massive media coverage around the world. The press and media around the world have something to inform and report about the very meticulously programmed and technically perfect expo. The security is wonderfully good and has been tightened up after receiving some threats from ultra-nationalist forces to disrupt the expo accusing it as an unnecessary extravaganza. Hotel rooms are booked for five months and the prices around Hannover City and North Saxony region of Federal Republic of Germany have gone up.

The response, especially in terms of visitors inflow, is not encouraging. The expo had aimed to attract
40 million visitors in its entire expo period from all countries of the world. That means 268,500 visitors per day, which is an extremely ambitious target. The turnout has just crossed one million, which signals that the target is unlikely to be fulfilled. The entrance ticket is expensive and costs 69 German Marks (US $ 35 or Rs. 2,500) just for a single day and the expo itself is so big that you need at least a week to cover it all. For most of the visitors the 1.7 million square meters exhibition area is too big. People are seen exhausted and tired visiting pavilions and stalls. The organizers are trying every move to increase visitor inflow including reducing the price for entrance ticket for weekends and offering special benefits. The organizers are expecting high turnout when the schools will close down for vacation.

Nepali Participation

Nepal’s pavilion is one of the ten most attractive pavilions. This has also been commented in some German newspapers. Nepal has presented stupa and a pagoda temple with the message ‘living together in tolerance under the roof of the world,’ symbolizing peaceful co-existence of Buddhism and Hinduism for over 2,500 years. A holy pond, welcoming visitors with ‘Tika’ and live woodcarving and pottery displays have added attractions to our pavilion, thanks to Nepali architects and designers.

The striking aspect of such a magnificent presentation in Nepali pavilion is the very poor information system. Brochures, leaflets, handouts, postcards, country information, CD Rom, audio-visual displays and other promotional materials should have been there to enhance Nepal’s participation. The co-ordination with different organizations to intensify our presentation in Expo 2000 is required urgently. Trade Promotion Center (TPC), Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI) should start working to promote Nepali tourism, inviting international investment so as to intensify our export to improve our economy to make it a meaningful presentation for Nepal. The government should support the organizers in every way possible to make our presentation a rewarding one, make public informed of such a huge project and ensure transparency.