Seville Expo 1992 ... we'll be there!

 

Panorama of the pavilions on the Lago de España at Expo'92 Seville.

Rina Steenkamp

Meintjeskop CourierMarch 1992

On April, 20th 1992, Spain's great Universal Exposition opens in Seville.       EXPO'92 promises to be the biggest and most expensive event of its kind ever.

EXPO' 92 is the seventh Universal Exposition. The first, in London in 1851, celebrated the achievements of the Industrial Revolution. EXPO'92, Spain's almost $2 billion project, will mark five centuries of discoveries since Christopher Columbus set off across the ocean. The organizers say it also stands for "the communications revolution, the harnessing of new technologies and the major social shifts that have characterized these closing years of the 20th century."

The EXPO'92 Cartuja Site is built on a flat island     in the Guadalquivir River, around a  Carthusian Monastery where Columbus once stayed and was briefly buried, and which will serve as the official residence of King Juan Carlos I. The whole idea of EXPO'92 originated from him.

More than 100 countries, the 17 Spanish regions, the European community and more than 20 other international organizations and nearly 50 large corporations will be exhibiting at the Exposition.

And South Africa will be one of the 113 countries vying for attention in Seville. Because of the short time available (we only received an invitation at the end of July 1991) and limited financial resources South Africa has decided to opt for a modest, yet quality presentation, introducing the country to the world at an historic point of time in its history. South Africa was allocated a small, but strategically-situated site on the EXPO terrain where an independent pavilion is being constructed. The steel and space-frame structure will consist of two white membrane covered domes topped by brass-coloured cones. Between the two domes will be a revolving space-frame structure with reflecting panels which symbolises our mineral wealth and technological expertise. The pavilion will be flanked by 6 multi-coloured banners more than 8 meters in height. The national flag will fly over the central entrance.

Inside, the pavilion will present a "hi-tech" image through the use an aluminium blue and white space-frame, and high, dark blue ceilings, with small light creating a night sky effect.

The different exhibition themes will each be housed in a separate space frame unit reaching 5 metres high into the domed ceilings and will mainly consist of large illuminated transparencies carefully chosen for maximum visual impact. A number of physical exhibits including works of art, gold and diamond displays, etc. will complement the exhibition.

The themes covered in the South African exhibit will revolve around the main theme of "Discovery".

a)            Southern Africa as the "Cradle of mankind" with the world famous archeological discoveries of early man.

b)            South African art and culture in its rich diversity.

c)            South Africa's main successes in the field of nature conservation.

d)            South Africa's rich mineral resources.

e)            South     Africa's main technological achievements and its role in Africa and the world.

f)            South Africa as a unique tourist destination.

In the four corners of the pavilion large video-monitor screens will continuously display images of the country, its people, its traditional and modern features and its contribution to the development of Africa and the world. The video will be complemented by music both traditional and modern of our country. All these audio- visual attractions are being produced specially for the Exposition.

In the centre of the pavilion there will be a large information desk where publications will be distr-buted and enquiries be handled. Specialised publications for those with a specific interest in South Africa will be available and every VIP visitor will receive a "South Africa: The Beautiful".

A team of specially trained assistants, under the leadership of Dr Johan Stander and Miss Cecilia Colarossi, will be present throughout the EXPO period. They will wear uniforms designed to complement the pavilion's colour scheme.The staff, mostly young cadets from the Department, have been specially selected and will undergo a special training programme before their departure for Seville.

The Exposition, which runs through to October, hopes to attract between 20 and 40 million visitors. Apart from all the exhibits, there will be lots of entertainment. Top performers and creative artists from all over the world will be performing at EXPO'92 with events like opera, drama, rock, jazz, etc. 

The big names include Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Jackson, and many more. Over 50 000 performances are planned between April and October 1992, many spilling out of the site's entertainment venues and into its streets and squares. By night, thousands of spectators will gather on the shores of the EXPO lake for the multi-media show which combines fireworks, sophisticated sound and light effects, lasers, etc.

Moving from one part of the Exposition to another is also going to be a pleasure:  500 000 square metres of parks and gardens have been planted, providing shade and colour. Fountains, canals and waterfalls will cool the plazas and avenues.

Visitors can boat on the lake and canals, view the Exposition from above the monorail or cable-car and for a view from even higher up, there is the Panoramic Tower from 90 meters up, the observation cabin overlooks the Cartuja site, the new bridges over the river and the high speed trains arriving from Madrid.

The Expositioncloses its gates on the 12th October. Spain plans to turn the EXPO site into a high-tech research centre to act as the nucleus for development in the Andalusian region.

South Africa, unlike some of the other exhibitors who have built permanent structures on the site, will take down its pavilion at the end of the EXPO to be used back home again.

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