The first world fair to be held in the Middle East, Expo 2020 Dubai, opened on Thursday with a lavish ceremony of fireworks, music and messaging about the power of global collaboration for a more sustainable future.
Stars headlining the opening ceremony, which was projected in public spaces around the UAE, included Italian tenor singer Andrea Bocelli, British singer Ellie Goulding, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Saudi singer Mohammed Abdu.
Dubai, the region's tourism, trade and business hub, is hoping to boost its economy by attracting 25 million business and tourist visits to the world fair which has been built from scratch on 4.3 sq km of desert.
Many countries and companies are also looking to the expo - the first major global event open to visitors since the coronavirus pandemic - to boost trade and investment.
The full expo site will open its doors to exhibitors from almost 200 countries on Friday after being delayed for a year by the pandemic. Chosen eight years ago to follow the 2015 Expo in Milan, Italy, the event cost around $6.8 billion, Reuters reported.
Dubai says it wants the Expo, an exhibition of culture, technology and architecture under the banner "Connecting Minds and Creating the Future", to be a demonstration of ingenuity, and a place where global challenges such as climate change, conflict and economic growth can be addressed together.
