EXPO Express

In Brief
Online English learning community Speak2Me Inc. offers its spoken test to help select volunteers and provide trainings

A large-scale gaming tournament will take place at the Sweden Pavilion, hosted by DreamHack and the Cyberathlete Professional League

France reveals its agenda, including a musical composed by Expo ambassador and actor Alain Delon, and a visit by President Sarkozy

A large Public Participation Space will be set up at the Expo for increased audience involvement and brainstorming sessions with leading experts

Participants
Sweden to Host Large-Scale Gaming Tournament
11/27/09 – E-sports organization Cyberathlete Professional League will join Sweden’s DreamHack next spring in hosting a large-scale gaming tournament and several programs at the Swedish Pavilion. The gaming events will take place throughout the course of the Expo, culminating in a championship at the Ice Hotel in Sweden in the winter. CPL CEO Scott Valencia calls DreamHack a “digital Woodstock [that] represents modern digital youth culture.” He added: “This project has the official governmental support of Sweden and China. We are already in talks with other governments and associations around the world. This project has taken us to all corners of the globe and it’s growing on a daily basis.” The games that will be presented at the Expo include the “official international title” Heroes of Newerth, as well as “culture games” from different regions, such as China’s Three Kingdoms Online and Croatia’s Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter. Expo tournament participants will be competing for the new Digital Youth Award, funded by the governments and communications companies.
[Kris Graft / gamasutra.com]

Two Pavilions Celebrate Topping Out Ceremony
11/26/09 – The 3,000-square-meter Singapore Pavilion celebrated its topping out ceremony on Thursday, along with the official launch of its logo and mascot. Alfred Poon, assistant director, World Expo, Singapore Tourism Board, said “[This] means we can now start looking at the interior and incorporating all the fine and nice programmes for the audience.” The logo was inspired by the structure’s exterior and by musical instruments, while the mascot, called Liu Lian Xiao Xing (榴 莲 小 星), is a 5-year-old Singaporean boy who loves durians and likes to draw the Esplanade. “We’ve actually conceived this idea from two most lovable icons of Singapore – the durian and the Merlion,” said Poon. The island city-state hopes to showcase the nation’s achievements in urban planning, water technology and environmental services, using recyclable materials such as aluminium and steel, as well as its relations with China. Additionally, the 4,000-square-meter Aviation Pavilion, built by the China Aviation Industry Corporation and China Eastern Airlines, completed its topping out on Friday. The pavilion, which will look like a huge white cloud in the Puxi section of the Expo site, will give visitors the feeling of “flying in the sky.”
[Glenda Chong Channel / News Asia, Echo Hu / en.expo2010.cn]

French Pavilion Reveals Expo Agenda
11/26/09 – France’s Expo commissioner general, José Freches, handed the country’s Expo period activity plan to Hu Jinjun, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, at the bureau on Monday, November 23rd. France will stage a series of cultural programs, including a musical called “Douce France,” composed by its Expo ambassador, actor Alain Delon. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is also set to visit the Expo to attend the pavilion’s cultural programs, French Ambassador to China Herve Ladsous disclosed on Wednesday. France also became the first country to unveil a demo of its online interactive 3D virtual pavilion on Wednesday, in which visitors will be able to “walk” through the virtual pavilion and get free entrance to the “Gallery” to view masterpieces and play games using the latest 3D technology. Additionally, L’Oreal China will provide free cosmetics for couples who get married at the France Pavilion after having signed a cooperation deal with the pavilion operator in Shanghai on Wednesday. L’Oreal China, as a project sponsor, is also offering makeup and training courses at universities nationwide to promote the Expo.
[Hu Min and Shen Li / Shanghai Daily]

Macedonia Signs On
11/24/09 – The Republic of Macedonia’s government and the Expo’s coordination bureau inked the country’s Expo participation deal on Monday, November 23rd. Huang Jianzhi, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, and Dr Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov, Macedonia’s deputy minister of economy and commissioner general, signed the contract on behalf of the two parties. Now, all European countries who confirmed they would take part in the Expo have signed the participation contract. Macedonia confirmed participation on February 9, 2007 and has declared its theme of “Urban Continuity.” It will stage its exhibition in the Joint-European Pavilion.
[en.expo2010.cn]

General Info
Forum Focuses on Urban Innovation
11/29/09 – More than 200 experts and scholars gathered on Saturday to discuss the topic of “Building Innovative Urban District” at an Expo-themed forum in Shanghai’s Yangpu District. From both China and abroad, participants at the forum urged governments to make full use of their human, technological and educational resources to develop their cities and districts. Governments were also urged to do a good job in protecting old local buildings and culture while pursuing social and economic development. Yangpu is one of the largest districts in Shanghai and in 2003, the district government turned the traditional industrial area into a district now known for its famous universities and creative industries.
[en.expo2010.cn]

Hospital Ready to Help Ailing Expats Go Home
11/27/09 – Punan Hospital, Shanghai’s only hospital equipped with special teams to escort sick expatriates back to their home countries, is offering language training and perfecting service procedures in preparation for the Expo. Five hospitals – Ruijin, Renji, Shuguang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shanghai No. 9 People’s Hospital and Shanghai East Hospital – have also been designated to provide Expo medical services for patients from China and abroad who need to be treated in Shanghai. Hospital official Yin Zhifa said Thursday that an escort group, which usually consists of a doctor and a nurse experienced in the patient’s disease and condition, can be organized in three to four hours. “Though we are not a designated hospital, we will also remain on standby as the nearest hospital to the Expo site in Pudong New Area. We have received and treated 18 expatriate patients who came to Shanghai for Expo pavilion construction,” he said.
[Cai Wenjun / Shanghai Daily]

Home-Stay Rule Book in Works
11/26/09 – Local tourism authorities published a draft on Wednesday specifying service standards, such as room facilities, food safety and security, for home-stays during the Expo. Drafted by the Shanghai Tourism Administration and Shanghai University, the final version is to be published by the end of the year. The standard includes stipulations that hosts should provide a bedroom occupying no less than 10 square meters with furniture and Internet access, and that residents should learn simple English to communicate with the guests. Linfen Community in Zhabei District, the pilot for the home-stay project, said it has established an Expo service center where tourists will pay, which will then reimburse the hosts. The Shanghai Tourism Administration said the project is expected to be promoted in the downtown area, covering about 500 to 600 families. The administration also designated five suburban families as the pilots for the “suburban life experience” project during the Expo. Visitors will get to cook authentic countryside cuisine, enjoy farmers’ paintings, and play ancient games with the families. Expo-designated tour agencies, such as Jinjiang International Travel Service Co. Ltd and Shanghai China International Travel Service Co Ltd, will promote countryside packages to Expo visitors.
[Lu Feiran / Shanghai Daily]

Speak2Me to Test and Teach English to Expo Guides
11/25/09 – Speak2Me Inc., an online English language learning community, announced on Wednesday that it has concluded an agreement to provide an automated online spoken English test to help the Expo Executive Committee select the best English speaking volunteers and then offer training to them beginning in May. The committee is recruiting 80,000 volunteers to greet and guide visitors from an estimated applicant pool of over two million people in China. Xu Jianping, director of the Expo’s Bilingual Activity Committee, said, “This platform will be very helpful in quickly raising the spoken English level of the people of Shanghai.” Speak2Me is also producing a premium content suite of CD-ROMs that will be available for sale and accessible online, with lessons to improve spoken English and to train the Expo volunteers, in addition to Shanghai’s civil servants, police, hospitality workers and transport workers, in order for them to communicate easily and effectively in spoken English.
[money.cnn.com]

Financial Crisis Has Little Impact on Shanghai Expo
11/24/09 – The global financial crisis has had little impact on the Expo, senior Shanghai officials said Tuesday. “The participation of 242 countries and international organizations has made the Expo unprecedented in scale,” said Yang Xiong, deputy director of the Executive Committee for the Shanghai Expo, in a report to the Paris-based International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE). Many participants have confirmed that they would play a more active role in face of the crisis, Yang said.?”Iceland, for example, though facing threat of governmental bankruptcy early this year, didn’t withdraw. Instead, it decided to participate in the Expo more vigorously to show its unique style of culture and economy,” Yang noted. To tackle the financial crisis, Expo organizers have offered assistance to developing countries, the report said. Vicente Loscertales, secretary general of the BIE, had few concerns, stating that: “With the Expo and China’s experience, the world can learn many things, such as environment friendly technologies, the quality of life and human relations in the city. I think these are very important for the future.” [Zhang Xiang / Xinhua]

Expo Tickets Prove Hot Items
11/21/09 – Expo ticket sales have surpassed expectations, having exceeded 9.6 million by last week, organizers said on Friday, November 20th. Since tickets went on sale on July 1st, sales have accounted for about a seventh of the estimated volume of 70 million visitors expected during the entire Expo period. “People’s enthusiasm turned out to be higher than expected,” said Chen Xianjin, deputy director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination. A standard ticket to the Expo costs 160 yuan (US$23.43), but people can enjoy a 20-yuan discount until the end of this year. So far, not a single fake ticket had been discovered among the 9.6 million sold, Expo officials said. However, the “Shanghai Expo” trademark has been infringed by some local companies, according to Chen Xuejun, deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce. The administration has handled 84 trademark violations involving the Expo from the beginning of 2008 to the end of September. [Zha Minjie and Xu Chi / Shanghai Daily]

Visitors Voice Support in Public Space
11/19/09 – A 1,000-square-meter Public Participation Space at the Expo will be set up to enhance audience involvement during the event. People can submit their pictures to become part of the display and can send a short message that will be instantly displayed. About 100 leading experts will be invited for brainstorming sessions at the space and will interact with the audience. The audience can also take part in an activity to design their ideal city. All results will be shown on a paper scroll, symbolizing the recording of the past, present and future of mankind in propelling urban development. All recordings during the 184-day Expo will be combined to fit the theme “Our Home.” [en.expo2010.cn]

Policy Report
Organizer Emphasizes IPR Protection of Expo Emblems
11/21/09 – The Expo organizer stressed the protection of the intellectual property rights of the Expo emblems during a press conference in Shanghai on Friday, November 20th. Since October 2004, when regulating Expo emblem IPR protection went into effect, all levels of the Administration for Industry & Commerce have spared no efforts to protect Expo emblems’ IPR, said Zhao Gang, deputy director of the Trademark Office, which is in charge of trademark and IPR protection in China. 61 Expo emblems have been registered, Zhao added. The Bureau has set up an Expo emblems management office to deal with public applications for emblem usage. It has received 257 applications and registrations to use the emblems, and cracked 163 IPR violations with the help of industry & commerce authorities at various levels, said Chen Xianjin, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination. He added that most violations took place in advertisements, online activities, fake Expo licensed products and unauthorized sales of Expo tickets. [en.expo2010.cn]