Expo Zaragoza 2008

Sunday, 15 June 2008 02:51

ZARAGOZA, SPAIN - The International Exposition to be held in Zaragoza between 14 June and 14 September 2008 has been designed as a grand celebration and an event with a strong cultural flavor. Over its three-month duration there will be more than 4,500 street theatre, classical theatre, cabaret, classical music, pop flamenco and folk performances by over 400 artistes. Another 1,000 or so performances forming part of the cultural programme of the participating countries should be added to that figure.

The show programme planned for the Expo has focused on diversity, coherence and modernity. The coherence of style and relation of these shows with the ‘Water and Sustainable Development theme’ and their commitment to the overall philosophy of the Exposition have been set out as criteria for the production and selection of shows.

The aim is to satisfy the great heterogeneity and cultural diversity of visitors coming to Expo Zaragoza 2008.

The Bridge Pavilion - An engineering masterpiece for Expo 2008
The Iraqi architect and Pritzker prize winner, Zaha Hadid, designed this emblematic building.The Bridge Pavilion is one of the many emblematic buildings of the International Exposition that Zaragoza will host from 14 June to 14 September 2008 with the central theme of “Water Sustainable and Development". Its sinuous form on the river, in the shape of a gladiolus, designed by Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid, along with Ove Arup, is, without a doubt, a fundamental contribution for both the International Exposition and Zaragoza city for its architectural imprint.

The bridge, measuring 260 meters long and 30 meters wide, is one of the main entrances to the International Exposition and links the Intermodal Station to the Expo site. It combines the use of a pedestrian bridge and an exhibition pavilion, housing the exhibition “Water, a Unique Resource”, designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates.

Since the beginning, the Bridge Pavilion has been an engineering challenge. Due to the characteristics of the River Ebro, the piles supporting the bridge reach great depths. The Osterberg Cell (O-cell®) — a hi-tech method that had never been used in Spain before — was used to check the bridge foundations.

This exhibition will travel to all the hosting cities. Each one of them will be invited to add their own pieces to the exhibition in order to adequate it to their own citizenship. Under the theme “Meeting spaces for humanity”, the exhibition will revolve around six main themes: “The Expos’ spirit”, “Outstanding buildings, experimental cities”, “A unique experience”, “From showcases to thinking platforms”, “Innovation and Avant-garde” and “Engines for development.”

It is expected that this itinerant exhibition will travel to twelve cities from January 2008 to December 2010. These cities will be: London, Paris, Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon, Brussels, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, Montreal, Melbourne, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Zaragoza and Madrid.

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