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Expo Zaragoza: the Right Choice for Slovakia

Expo 2008 was an international exhibition held in Zaragoza - Spain, from 14 June to 14 September 2008. The topic of the exhibition was "Water and sustainable development". Zaragoza was elected in December 2004 (from among Thessaloniki in Greece and Trieste in Italy) to be the host city of Expo 2008.

General info
The pavilions for official participants were divided into 8 large buildings and five differentiated eco-geographical areas among which were Islands and Coasts, Oases, Ice and Snow, Temperate Forests, Tropical Rainforests, Mountains and High Plains, Grasslands, Steppes and Savannahs and Rivers and Flat Plains.

The exhibition’s most exemplary buildings were the Water Tower, a high transparent building symbolising a drop of water, Zaha Hadid´s Bridge Pavilion and the River Aquarium.

Expo 2008 had a 93-day show programme with more than 3,400 acts presented by over 350 artistic companies and artistes. The exposition site also hosted several events, including a daily parade by the Cirque du Soleil called The Awakening of the Serpent.

The Expo 2008 Mascot
The Expo 2008 mascot was Fluvi – a little drop of water who, with his best friend Ica – the smallest drop of water, and Nico and Laurita, fights against pollution.

Slovakia in Zaragoza
During the three months of Expo Zaragoza 2008 nearly a quarter of a million visitors came to see the Slovak pavilion –which was four times higher than the number expected. Even the largest exhibitors in Slovakia only reach such attendance figures exceptionally. And if we compare their show areas, we will see that 461 m2 of the Slovak pavilion in Zaragoza achieved approximately four times higher attendance and effectiveness results per square metre.

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As stated by the Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic, doc. Ing. Ľubomír Jahnátek, CSc. during the Slovak National Day at Expo Zaragoza: “…participation at this international exhibition was the right choice for Slovakia.“ (In: Slovenský deň na Expe v Zaragoze (Slovak Day at the Expo in Zaragoza), Trend magazine, 14 August, 2008).

According to published reviews, the Slovak exposition’s presentation of the theme of the exhibition, water and sustainable development, was impressive and was one of the most widely visited and completely fulfilled its purpose.

This result was achieved by teams lead by the General Commissioner of Slovakia at the Expo, Mr Dušan Horniak, the Director of the Slovak pavilion, Mrs Ivana Magátová (currently the general director of the upcoming Slovak participation at an international exhibition in Shanghai) and the Director of the implementing company D&D Studio, Mr Matej Habodász. The standard of the Slovak presentation at Expo was guaranteed by the main resort exhibitors – the Ministries of Economy, Agriculture, Construction and Regional Development. When creating the exposition, Slovak art elders including architects Jozef Habodász and Zoltán Salomon, along with young talented artists such as the composer Tomáš Rojček, created the symbol of the Spring of Europe and produced an exposition attractive not only visually but also captivating to all other senses. The experience was greatly admired and a desire to come to Slovakia was even aroused among members of the Spanish National Organisation of the Blind

“The Slovak exhibition presented nature, rivers, lakes, waterworks and specifically the mining works system in Banská Štiavnica, spas and mineral springs and showed research and water sport results. High mountains and low taxes, the dynamic economy and embracement of hiking were successfully presented as the image of Slovakia“. Such was the evaluation by the President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Štefan Luby (In: Slovensko v Zaragoze (Slovakia in Zaragoza), Hospodárske Noviny newspaper, 14 August, 2008).

“The presentation of Slovakia by something that is typical of us, through water, its use and its protection, which is a global issue today, is the reason why so many people queued up to see the Slovak pavilion,“ stated the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR), Pavol Paška in Zaragoza (In: Zaragoza: Deň Slovenska na Expo 2008 (Zaragoza: Slovak Day at the Expo 2008), STV 1; STV news, by Vahram Chuguryan, 3 August 2008).

Expo Zaragoza confirmed that international exhibitions still have a part to play. Especially if they follow the example of the one in Zaragoza and attract more visitors than the whole population of Slovakia. This ecological exhibition (it only used electricity generated from renewable resources) has fulfilled its purpose: to develop a worldwide shop-window for the best experiences and technologies, especially in the field of sustainable development and the use of water resources. Just as we have seen at similar exhibitions of its kind, this one also presented new inventions. For example, can you imagine that you visit a doctor with the flu, he filters out the disease-carrying viruses from your blood right there and you leave his office healthy? Such a turnaround in medicine may be achieved by a filter capable of capturing bacteria and viruses in liquids. Russia publicly introduced this invention for the first time in its pavilion in Zaragoza.

By Dr. Peter Kresánek, Csc., Beata Pašková
Photo: Archive SK Magazine, P. Kresánek, Csc.