Since its launch 24 days ago, Exo 2020 Dubai has welcomed 1,471,314 visitors. With Expo 2020 Dubai reaching a global digital audience, the number of visitors has risen to 10.8 million since 1st October, up from 9.3 million last week.
The number of visitors was boosted by Expo’s Space Week, a stellar programme of music and cultural performances, a public holiday long weekend, and half-term.
As Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have shown, space is the world’s next big investment frontier. Dubai Chamber of Commerce, the UAE Space Agency, and Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre held a series of debates on the challenges and opportunities offered by the commercialization of this key industry. Furthermore, Space Week proved to be a catalyst for discussions around important topics such as the impact of space debris, recent technological advancements and the increasing number of women in outer space.
The themed week was also a strong draw with the public, featuring nebula music, star-gazing and a chance for visitors to hear from the UAE’s first astronauts – the first female Emirati astronaut, Nora Al Matrooshi, and the first Emirati in space, Hazza Al Mansouri. Closer to earth, The Knights, the UAE’s aerobatic display team, and their Saudi counterparts the Saudi Falcons, staged a heart-stopping show in the skies above the Expo site, while Al Wasl drew the large crowds to its spectacular space-themed projection show.
Children made up an estimated quarter of Expo visitors over the school break, attracted by a broad range of activities, including coaching from the cricketing giant Rajasthan Royals and Turn Up & Play sessions from Manchester City, as well as kid-friendly attractions at Al Forsan Park.
Since the spectacular opening ceremony on 30 September, with a star-studded line-up of artists from the UAE, the Middle East, and around the world, visitors have been able to take part in daily cultural programmes while exploring the more than 200 pavilions throughout the Expo site.
During the recent long weekend, thousands of visitors gathered to hear Expo 2020 Dubai’s all-female Firdaus Orchestra perform a space-themed concert, which included classical music and an original composition by Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman. Another long-weekend crowd-pleaser was British singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf, who was joined by musicians from around the globe for his ‘Beyond the Stars’ show.
Iraqi megastar Kadim Al Sahir, one of the most successful Arab artists in history, kickstarted Expo 2020 Dubai’s spectacular Infinite Nights series. Also popular was a performance from Syrian composer, songwriter and producer Iyad Rimawi, who took to the Jubilee Stage as part of the Late Nights @ Expo series.
Regular events such as the night-time light festival Kaleidoscope, and the spectacular Expo 2020 Water Feature, with its 14-meter-high walls of water, as well as Garden in the Sky, which offers visitors 360-degree views of the Expo site, are extremely popular.
With appetites whetted by these experiences, visitors have flocked to more than 200 food and beverage outlets across the site for a chance to sample more than 50 global cuisines, ranging from street food to innovative culinary technology and sustainable dining.