8/30/2008

EXPO Zaragoza - 1 (ENG)

NOTA: LA VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL ESTÁ MÁS ABAJO

NOTE: PLEASE HELP ME TO IMPROVE MY ENGLISH AND LET ME KNOW MISTAKES OR SENTENCES THAT COULD BE BETTER STRUCTURED... THANKS :)



Without any doubt, 2008 was a great year for Spain, besides winning in European Football Championship and Wimbledon, this country held an International Exposition. Under the theme "Water and Sustainable Development" and from June 14th to September 14th, The city of Zaragoza hosts this great event. The fairground was erected next to the river that gives its name to the Iberian Peninsula, the Ebro. This place was optimal for an event whose main goal is to place the water as the starring of XXIth Century. This is Fluvi, the official mascot.



Spain has good experience in hosting Expos, they did Seville '92, which certainly has been among the most important of all times. Now, 16 years later, the capital city of Aragon defeated Trieste (Italy) and Thessalinica (Greece) to win the right to host the Expo from the B.I.E (The equivalent of FIFA or Olympic Committee)


For those not familiarized with this kind of event, they should know that together with Olympics and FIFA World Cup, the Expos are the events with the largest influence in culture and economics on a World Scale. Expos started half a century ago as showcases for the progress of imperialist nations. Then, last century they refocused for addressing particular themes in a wide scope of subjects.



Now the Expos have a truly global perspective, where problems related to sustainable development can be discussed and experiences in progress can be shared. Besides, countries have a wonderful opportunity to promote their national image. It can be described as a mix of Interactive Museums, Theme Park, United Nations, Culture Forum, Art Gallery and Spectacles Centre where visitors can know better the world and learn about something in particular.



The expo has many attractive stuff, besides the national pavilions, there are the thematic ones. They show in a very creative way stuff related to the Expo Theme. Also there is a huge variety of spectacles, those that every countries brings, and also those that organizers present. Perhaps the most seductive things is to appreciate the enormous cultural and anthropological richness of our planet, to be able to meet people from all over the World.



In the cities that host an Expo, it usually becomes the water shed in their urban desing and even in its history. Paris built the Eiffer Tower for their 1889 Exhibition. Montreal, Osaka, Seville or Lisbon, all keep un til today the legacy of their Expos. For 2010 Queretaro, a city in Mexico, bid for hosting the Expo, but lost to Shanghai. After that, the next ones will be Yoesu 2012 in South Korea and Milan, Italy 2015.



Zaragoza 2008, or just ZH20, is easily reachable from Madrid and Barcelona thanks to the AVE, the high speed train. When you arrive to Delicias Station you realize the big effort Spain has made in developing the infrastructure for Expo. The fairground is just next to it, so you can walk for a short while, or even better, take the sky cabin and enjoy the view from the heights.

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