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Washington DC (Islam Online) - Expo 2000, this year's first major festival, is being hosted by the German city of Hanover and features the theme of Humankind, Nature and Technology.
The sponsors of the festival hope to attract a surplus of 40,000 visitors with its grandiose theme. They hope to illustrate how the future of technology can be harnessed in order to help the natural world.
The Expo 2000 sports a budget of $1.5 billion that has been used to put together an array of sites that are sure to impress. The organizers have created an elaborate set-up, with five theme parks and even a gondola cable car system to link the far-flung pavilions.
One of the major features of the festival is its striking architecture, a tradition established at the first world fair, held in London's Crystal Palace almost 150 years ago. An example of how technology can be used to help the natural world in the set-up of the Expo is Japan's pavilion, which has been made entirely of recycled paper.
Other displays feature pavilions that are shaped like a whale, while the Dutch pavilion has trees sticking out of its structure and water rushing down its sides.
Just days before the Expo was due to open many of the displays still looked like building sites. However, as Expo 2000 opened on June 1st, all of the delights and displays were completely prepared and in full display.
The theme of Expo 2000 echoes the recent comments of Prince William, who was quoted recently saying that people should be more aware of nature and be more in touch with the world that God created. Hopefully, Expo 2000 will give people the opportunity to implement the sentiments of the son of the late Diana, who died in a car crash in August 1997.
One notable absence from the Hanover festival is the United States, who embarrassingly failed to raise enough funds in sponsorship money to participate in this gala event
To find out more information about Expo 2000 or to get a full breakdown of the Expo's features and events, go to: www.expo2000.com
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