State Secretary for trade and industry Rikke Lind giving a hand when construction of the Norwegian Expo pavilion officially started on April 27th. (Photo: Philip Lote/Expo)
One year from now, what is still just a 5.28 square kilometre construction site will have developed into the 2010 Shanghai World Expo Exhibition Area, ready to receive an estimated total of 70 million guests over a six months period. Norway is putting a lot of effort and resources into its participation, and the Norwegian concept – Norway. Powered by Nature – has received a great deal of attention in China, both for its focus on sustainability and green cities, and because of the architecturally original pavilion which will be built up around 15 representations of trees.
The Norwegian pavilion
State Secretary for Trade and Industry Rikke Lind attended the groundbreaking ceremony, which in addition to official speeches and the formal first spade shuffle, included a traditional Chinese lion dance.
- I enjoyed taking part in the Ground Breaking Ceremony. I was very impressed by the performance and dance by the Chinese artists, says Lind, who is full of optimism and hopes for next year's Expo:
- We consider participation at EXPO 2010 as important for our long term efforts towards a strengthened relationship with China. Norway aims at further developing relations with China in areas such as business, culture and research. I hope more companies will use this opportunity and take part in the project.
Commissioner General for Norway at Expo Arild Blixrud helping to "open the lions' eyes" in order to make them able to dance
Commissioner General for Norway at Expo Arild Blixrud is also highly enthusiastic.
- I am very pleased to see that we are on track and ready to start the construction work. We truly believe that our pavilion will introduce a new way of thinking about architecture.
The symbollic fist shuffle is completed and the construction can start...