Brogan have been awarded a prestigious contract to help build part of the world Expo to be held in Dubai this year. We will be helping to construct Ireland’s pavilion, which will join 191 other country pavilions representing the best of their country at the Dubai Expo 2020. The Expo is described as ‘a once-in-a-lifetime celebration – the largest event ever staged in the Arab world – and is set to welcome almost 200 participating countries, and millions of visitors from across the globe.’
The Expo showcases an exciting mix of cultures, both future and past, in its country pavilions, which allow visitors to enjoy immersive cultural experiences and discover what makes each participating nation unique.
Having already been awarded the package to help build New Zealand’s pavilion earlier this year, we are exceptionally honoured, given our Irish heritage, to be helping to build Ireland’s showcase to the world. The Irish pavilion is an awe-inspiring design based on Ireland’s magnificent Stone Age Newgrange monument, a structure modelled on the movement of the sun and older than the pyramids.
We have been awarded the scaffold access package to construct the state-of-the-art facility and event space with a range of interactive activities to promote Ireland. As it’s based on the iconic Newgrange site, it will feature a passage measuring 19 metres leading into a chamber with three alcoves, mimicking the ancient structure. The passage and chamber are aligned with the rising sun at the Winter Solstice on December 21. Aislling McDermott, manager of Asia and Middle East, Tourism Ireland, explained: “The design will be based on Newgrange. One day a year the light shines in and they’re going to recreate that through Expo using artificial intelligence (AI)".
‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ is the overarching theme for Expo 2020 Dubai, which boasts ‘many reasons to be counted as one of the most important in exposition history’ according to organisers.
This colossal event brings the world’s nations together in an international forum celebrating three subthemes: opportunity - unlocking the potential within us; mobility - creating smarter and better connections; and sustainability - living in balance with the world around us.
The New Zealand pavilion, which we are already working on will bring a piece of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa which translates to ‘Container of Treasures’ with it. Visitors will be able to select one of more than 100 pieces of art from the Museum’s contemporary collection to ‘hang’ digitally on the interactive art wall of The Co-operative Room. This feature would save visitors the 8,839 mile trip from Dubai to Wellington, New Zealand to see the collection.
From October 20 this year to April 10 2021, Expo 2020 Dubai will welcome 192 participating countries and an expected 25 million visits. It is expected to be the largest event ever held in the Arab world.