Events marking the opening of Expo 2010 will be held today in Shanghai. Organisers say that this expo, in which Lithuania is one of 192 countries taking part, is the largest and most ambitious of any world's fair ever held. The doors to Expo 2010 will be open to visitors starting this Saturday.

  

The opening ceremonies, to be attended by about twenty state leaders, will be held in three separate locations. President of France Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, as well as President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barrosso, are among the dignitaries expected at the opening ceremonies. The organisers have announced that the opening fireworks will light up the skies for half an hour starting at 8:10 pm local time (or 2:10 pm in Lithuania), and they promise the display will be even more impressive than during the Beijing Olympics. In addition to the impressive fireworks, the appearance of world-famous tenor Placido Domingo is expected to draw much interest, as is a demonstration of traditional Kung Fu.

 

This time, the theme of the biennial World's Fair is "Better City, Better Life." According to projections, about 70 million people will pass through the gates of the exhibition's 5 km2 site. Expo 2010 will be open to the public for six months and will run until the end of October.

On June 20-26, some visitors were allowed to preview the Expo's grounds. Just over one million people visited during the six-day period. Lithuania's pavilion also received its very first guests. Three countries have yet to finish their preparations for the Expo: Bhutan, Kuwait, and the western African state of Burkina Faso.

 

Lithuania, which is taking part in its tenth Expo, has chosen the hot-air balloon as the symbol of its pavillion this time round. Guests will be invited to take a memorable flight over Lithuania, where modern buildings reflect the progress of the country's cities while also blending in with the historic cityscape. Visitors to Lithuania's pavilion will be able to take in eye-catching presentations of the nation's cities and will also have a chance to taste traditional Lithuanian foods and test their shooting skills on a basketball court. In China, where Lithuania is best known as a basketball nation and the home of Jonas Kazlauskas, coach of China's national basketball team, Lithuania will acquaint visitors with the European Basketball Championship, which it is hosting next year. About 3 to 4 million visitors – or 20,000 people per day – are expected to visit Lithuania's pavillion over the next six months.