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Special Feature - Expo 2020 Dubai
The heart of Expo 2020 Dubai
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Al Wasl Plaza, named after the Arabic word for ‘connection’, will serve as the centrepiece of the next World Expo Sprawling across 4.38 square kilometres in Dubai South, a single visit won’t be enough to explore everything Expo 2020 Dubai has to offer. But if there’s one thing that will be impossible to miss on every visit, it’s the striking Al Wasl Plaza, which has already become the site’s identifying marker. And while the event officially opens its doors later this year, this iconic centrepiece is already making waves. CROWN JEWEL Described as the ‘crown jewel’ of Expo 2020 Dubai, Al Wasl Plaza is a remarkable feat of engineering. It links the site’s three Thematic Districts, which reflect the subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, and, hence, is aptly named after the Arabic word for ‘connection’. It signifies a meeting of the site’s pathways and nods to the event’s aim to bring people together from all over the world. The domed trellis of Al Wasl Plaza is 130 metres wide and 65 metres high, and it weighs an incredible 2,544 tonnes. Its design was inspired by an ancient elaborately fashioned gold ring found at Saruq Al Hadid, an important archaeological site originally discovered
by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, while flying his helicopter over the desert. The ring also inspired the intertwined logo of Expo 2020 Dubai. When Al Wasl Plaza – inaugurated in January 2020 – truly comes to life with the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai on October 1, 2021, its dome will act as an immersive projection surface that is visible from both inside and outside the plaza. Its sheer size makes it the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface, set to dazzle visitors as the main staging area for the show’s opening and closing ceremonies. The plaza will be the place to gather during the show’s six-month run. It will host major ceremonies, celebrations, performances and concerts. Striking images and videos will be beamed onto the dome via more than 200 projectors within it. Both during and after the event, it will connect people from all around the world as the beating heart of Expo 2020 Dubai. VISIT STAND ME3110, ME3140, ME2520
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1 & 2 Al Wasl Plaza
Al Wasl Plaza will act as an immersive 360-degree projection surface that is visible from both inside and outside DID YOU KNOW THAT AL WASL DOME... X25
X300 ENCLOSES A SPACE OF 724,000 CUBIC METRES, THE VOLUME OF ALMOST 300 OLYMPIC-SIZE SWIMMING POOLS
WEIGHS 2,544 TONNES, THE SAME AS 25 BLUE WHALES
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USES 13.6 KILOMETRES OF STEEL, EQUIVALENT TO THE HEIGHT OF 16 BURJ KHALIFAS
STANDS TALLER THAN THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA
14_ATM 2021 SHOW DAILY_DAY 2_SPECIAL FEATURE_EXPO2020.indd 14
IS ALMOST AS WIDE AS TWO AIRBUS A380 AIRCRAFT LINED UP, WING TO WING
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