By Claudia Sun
Consultant
Hill & Knowlton
By Cameron Wilson Hill & Knowlton
The world’s spotlight may be shining on Beijing at the moment as the countdown to the 2008 approaches single figures, but just two years from now Shanghai will be enjoying its turn in the international limelight. The World Expo 2010 has acted as a catalyst for a great number of new building projects in Shanghai. Almost every newspaper report we read about a new subway line or other public facility ends with a quote from an official saying “the construction will be completed by 2010.” The rapid expansion of Shanghai’s metro system is just one of the many changes in the city prompted by the Expo. Currently consisting of eight metro lines with a total length of 228km, the city will have a network of 11 lines totaling 400 km, with three lines serving the Expo area.
As one might expect of Shanghai, the forthcoming Expo promises to be the bigger and better than previous efforts. A 5.28-square-kilometer site, spanning both the east and west bank of the Huangpu river running through the middle of the city, will cover more space than any previous Expo. But Shanghai Expo 2010 will be big not just in terms of its physical size. In terms of global prestige, a World Expo is rivaled only by football’s World Cup and the Olympic Games. And that is no coincidence when considering China’s traditional and long standing regional rivalries. Since Beijing got the Olympics, there was no better way for Shanghai to reply than by securing the World Expo. In Shanghai, we can see the impact of the event everywhere. But the implications of the Expo and opportunities it offers extend far beyond the whole city and touch every corner of the globe.
There are a multitude of reasons why the rest of the world should take the Shanghai Expo seriously. As the focus of the world shifts from Europe and North America eastwards towards Asia, particularly China, this forthcoming Expo takes on added significance. The event is a magnet for the finest thought-leaders in the world who will converge upon Shanghai precisely because they are in touch with global trends and well aware that the world focus is moving towards China. They will come in the hope that the new concepts, theories and ideas they present at the Expo become part of the fabric of this fundamental worldview shift. In other words, Expo represents the chance for the most pre-eminent thinkers of our time to create their legacy for themselves that will stretch far into the next century. And this in turn is an outstanding opportunity for countries all around the world to make their contribution to the discussion and help shape the outcomes of Expo in their favor. In many ways, the Expo presents even more opportunities than the Olympic Games – it lasts for six months and with thousands of decision-makers in attendance at forums specifically designed to find ways to make the world a better place, there could scarcely be more at stake for participating nations and corporate bodies. For countries, it’s the chance to portray a positive image to the Chinese people and challenge stereotypes. The opportunity to engage in high-level visits, bilateral meetings, trade and investment seminars, tourism and education promotions, business networking events, and state and territory events – an ideal opportunity for country branding.
For companies, participation in trade missions, business networking, and sector-focused promotions within each country pavilion are among the attractions.
In a word – “influence”.
This time it is much more than just an Expo. It is huge international event coming to the biggest city in the most booming country in the world – and a great deal is at stake for the host. Whilst Beijing may be the most suitable recipient of the international prestige all Olympic Host cities enjoy, Shanghai’s position as the financial hub of China, and its long history of contact with the rest of the world, makes it the most fitting host for a World Expo. Shanghai sees itself as a progressive, culturally diverse, dynamic and cutting-edge city and it hopes to cement this image during the Expo – it is for these reasons that Expo may be re-invented itself. Amongst all the talk of world change and a shift of focus, China’s use of Expo to continue its reinvention as a leader on the world stage can be mirrored by Expo itself – Expo will use China’s increasing profile to boost its own for future events. It’s a classic “win-win” situation.
Most important of all from a PR perspective will be the great number of communications opportunities the Expo will present us with. Over the course of the entire event, some 20,000 performances will take place on site. Many of these will be hugely colorful, eye-catching and will be naturally very media -friendly. These entertaining spectacles will offer a great chance to deliver important concepts and key branding messages of the many sponsors who will be at Expo.
A series of forums will attract significant press attention. Firstly, the Summit Forums will look at major urban problems from a macro perspective, and discuss the all-important theme of sustainability. Future urban development concepts will also be examined, from the view point of how such matters will affect cities all over the world.
Theme Forums will take a more urban-focused perspective on new systems and administrative models for modern cities. This forum will concentrate on identifying the latest urban development trends, with the intention of making useful strategic recommendations for future city development. Finally public forums will give everyone the opportunity to add their voices to the debates.
These discussion arenas may generate headline generating news – the urban backdrop of Shanghai will hopefully concentrate experts’ minds on coming up with innovative solutions to urban problems.
The theme of the exposition is "Better City – Better Life" and this underlines one of the key themes of the Expo – environmentalism. Shanghai has made concentrated efforts in recent years to boost its credentials in this field, with city greening programs, tighter controls on vehicle emissions and the construction of an entire eco-city on Chongming Island, Dongtan. This is especially relevant as, according to UN figures, in 2008 the number of people living in cities in the world will exceed the number living in rural areas. The statistic also puts Shanghai into an ideal position to showcase itself as a model city to the estimated 70 million visitors who are expected to visit the exhibition when it opens between May 1 and Oct 31, 2010. They will doubtless spend as much of their time exploring the rest of the city as they will the Expo site itself.
Of course the Expo is not just about Shanghai. China wants to keep itself in the international spotlight and keep the momentum built up from the Olympic Games going. And as the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Party, governmental focus will move swiftly to Shanghai after the Olympic Games - full support will be vital to ensure top level world political attendance. This will help keep the profile of the event as high as possible and leverage world attention for the benefit of all China.
The business world will of course be a key player at the Expo and the traditional corporate pavilions will provide companies with the ideal forum to promote their services, concepts, achievements and plans for the future. Few would argue that a more fitting host city than Shanghai could be found to showcase such a spectacle of commerce.
With two years still to go, the organizers look on course to hold one of the best Expo’s yet. A record-breaking 210 participants have already been confirmed, beating the previous highest number held by Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany. Organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the African Union, the World Metrological Association and the World Bank are among those who will appear. So far, 41 of the participants are from Europe, 43 from Asia, 49 from Africa, 24 from the Americas, and 15 from Oceania, proving the event is truly global.
With such a truly international audience, Shanghai may finally realize its dream of becoming a major economic and cultural city for the 21st century.