Signing of the Participation Contract for EXPO 2010

Croatian Participation Contract for Shanghai EXPO 2010 was signed on September 8th in the Croatian Pavilion at the EXPO Zaragoza 2008.

The contract was signed from the Chinese side by Director General of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination Hong Hao and Commissioner General of EXPO 2010 Hua Jun Duo, and from the Croatian side by Commissioner General of Section for EXPO 2010 Ivica Maričić. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Vice-mayor of Shanghai Mr. Yang Xiong, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination Prof. Zhou Hanmin and Croatian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain Filip Vučak.

The EXPO 2010 will be held on 322 hectares on the banks of the Huangpu River in the center of Shnaghai under the theme “Better City, Better Life”. 177 countries and 44 international organizations already confirmed participation, while the Organizer is expecting 70 million visitors.

The Croatian Government has confirmed Croatia’s participation in August 2006 and ran a tender for the pavilion’s conceptual design, choosing the project by architect Branko Silađin entitled “Life is Between”. This will be the fifth consecutive participation of Croatia at World EXPOs, and is significant as the year 2010 also marks the 30th anniversary of the twinning of the cities of Zagreb and Shanghai.

Mr. Maricic presented the project of the Croatian Pavilion, which will be built in the shape of a town square with a loggia, spreading over 2.000 m². A square with a municipal loggia is characteristic of the Croatian urban tradition and represents a place of gathering and exchange of information.

The closing speech was held by Secretary General of the BIE (International Bureau of Expositions) Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales, pointing out Croatia has had exceptionally well-received appearances at all of the World EXPOs it participated in, expressing his conviction that Shanghai will be no exception.

Datum novosti: 9/8/2008