THE largest outdoor multimedia display China has seen since the Beijing Olympics will unveil the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai on Friday night.
The show along the Huangpu River, which will make nonstop use of fireworks, sound and light, constitutes a major part of the grand opening ceremony, which will also include indoor official functions.
Twenty heads of state and world leaders will attend the ceremony, the Expo’s information office said Thursday.
Among them are French President Nicolas Sarkozy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.
Visitors will also be able to delight in the singing of Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, be thrilled by Canada’s Cirque du Soleil and marvel at Shaolin and Wudang kung fu displays, according to the organizers.
Around 680 performances from across the world have been selected for the 2010 event.
“This is the first time a World Expo is hosting an opening ceremony of this scale,” says David Atkins, CEO of DAE, the company producing the event. “We are honored to have worked so closely with Chinese cultural authorities to create and produce a ceremony worthy of showcasing China — and the great city of Shanghai — to the world.”
The opening ceremony will be produced for TV with a live audience, according to the Shanghai Daily.
China Central Television will air it in full at 8:10 p.m. There will be a repeat airing at 9 a.m. Saturday.
The Expo, the first world exposition to be hosted by a developing country, is expected to attract more than 70 million visitors during its six-month run.
It will feature around 1,000 performances and a total of more than 20,000 sessions during its 184-day schedule. Around 100 sessions will be held every day in 32 outdoor and indoor stages dotted around the Expo site.
On Thursday, President Hu Jintao paid a visit to the Expo Park to see the preparations for himself.
