DUBAI: The three spectacular Expo Entry Portals that will welcome millions of visitors from around the world to Expo 2020 Dubai have been revealed with just over 250 days to go until the opening.
Conceived by Expo 2020 in collaboration with top British architect Asif Khan and his studio, the portals are a futuristic adaptation of the traditional mashrabiya, an intricate design used across the region to regulate light and airflow.
Ahmed Al Khatib, Chief Development and Delivery Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “We cannot wait to open our doors to the world on 20 October 2020, and the Expo Entry Portals will provide a wonderful way to welcome millions of people from across the globe to The World’s Greatest Show, giving a first taste of the amazing architecture and groundbreaking innovation they will experience all around the site.”
The reveal of the Expo Entry Portals follows the release of impressive new drone video footage showcasing the Expo 2020 site, including the stunning completed Al Wasl Plaza. The footage is available for download here.
The remarkable portals are woven entirely from strands of ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre composite that lend incredible structural strength. This enables the ethereal structures to stand 21 metres high – taller than a six-storey building – and 30 metres long without any additional support.
Each portal features two vast doors, 21 metres high and 10.5 metres wide, that will be opened every morning of the 173 days of Expo 2020 in a symbolic act of welcoming the world. The portals lead to tree-filled arrival courtyards, also designed in collaboration with Khan – one in each of the three Expo 2020 districts: Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability.
Adding to the rich history of innovative structures from past World Expos, these portals are a future form of architecture inspired by the aesthetics of the region.
The intricate structures have taken three years to develop and are the first element to be fully revealed from Khan’s design of Expo 2020’s Public Realm, which comprises more than six kilometres of walkable areas across the site.
Asif Khan, architect of Expo 2020 Dubai’s Public Realm, who has described the Expo Entry Portals as his best work yet, said: “The portals are the first thing you see as you approach the site, so they are a landmark at the beginning and end of your journey at Expo 2020. I would like visitors to Expo, especially children, to be inspired by architecture they have never seen before, and to be excited that it is part of the heritage of the region. Passing through the doors represents a physical and symbolic act of moving from the past into the future."
The portals will be the first impression of the site upon arrival for the millions of visitors who will attend the first World Expo and largest event ever to be held in the Arab world.
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About Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai will bring together millions of people for The World’s Greatest Show, celebrating human brilliance and achievement under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
- The six months from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021 will be a moment in time to be part of an unparalleled event. We are extending a warm Emirati welcome to the world:
- 25 million visits are expected, with many visitors expected to come more than once
- 70 per cent of visitors anticipated to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 169-year history of World Expos
- An entertaining global celebration with something for everyone, Expo 2020 will wow visitors with 60 daily events across 173 days, showcasing the best of music, technology, creativity and culture, while 200 F&B outlets will feature famous chefs and cuisine from every corner of the world
- Expo 2020 will be an endless journey of discovery. Visitors will have access to the latest innovations and breakthroughs, with more than 200 participants – including 192 nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions – coming together to highlight real-life solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges
- Expo 2020’s sub-themes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability will inspire visitors to make a conscious effort to think and live differently, and give them renewed optimism that, through collaboration, it is possible to make a lasting change to the world
- The first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) will be located on a 4.38 sqkm site adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Media are invited to register for access to the Expo 2020 Dubai Media Information System, Tawassul, at https://media.expo2020dubai.com . Tawassul, meaning ‘connect’ in Arabic, is an essential operational tool connecting media to important information and updates on elements such as media accreditation, licences and permits and content assets. If you have not already submitted an expression of interest for media accreditation, please register for Tawassul to access the expression of interest form. For enquiries, email: media.services@expo2020.ae
Visit: www.expo2020dubai.com
Follow: Twitter: @expo2020dubai | Facebook: @Expo2020Dubai | Instagram: expo2020dubai
About World Expos
In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.
World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Press Office
On call contact
Email: press.office@expo2020.ae
Tel: +971 56 688 9509
P.O. Box 2020, Dubai, UAE
Rania Moussly | Nora Feidi
ASDA’A BCW
rania.moussly@bcw-global.com | nora.feidi@bcw-global.com
+971 50 5670377 | +971 50 1441243
Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE
About Asif Khan Studio
Asif Khan is a research and development led architecture studio that designs buildings, landscapes, exhibitions and installations, among other things. Khan’s practice explores how material and social innovations can fundamentally alter the way people experience their environment, realised through rigorously detailed and delivered outputs.
Khan is currently working on the new Museum of London at West Smithfield, Tselinny Centre of Contemporary Culture in Almaty and Expo 2020 Dubai’s Public Realm. Recently he designed the award-winning UK Pavilion at Astana Expo 2017 and the Hyundai Pavilion at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.
Notable previous projects include the ‘MegaFaces’ pavilion at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics that won the Cannes Lion Grand Prix for Innovation, the Coca-Cola Beatbox at London 2012 Olympics, a finalist entry in the international competition for the new Guggenheim Museum Helsinki from 1,700 anonymous designs, and a Summer pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery in Summer 2016.
Khan lectures globally and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Design Museum. He was awarded an MBE for services to Architecture in 2017 and the studio was named ‘Architects of the Year’ by the German Design Council in 2018.
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