Only four days after opening to the public, representatives of Expo 2017 Astana addressed the 161st General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) to give an update on the Expo’s opening and first few days.

Rapil Zhoshybayev, Expo 2017 Astana Commissioner

Expo Commissioner Rapil Zhoshybayev informed delegates that the Opening Ceremony on 9 June, which was presided by Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and attended by 17 heads of State and government and 10 heads of international organisations. The ceremony was followed by a concert and a dazzling multimedia show centred around Nur Alem, the central structure of the Expo site. The next day, on June 10th, the Expo officially opened its doors to the public, letting visitors discover the 25 ha site for the first time and enter the pavilions of the more than 110 international participants.

The Commissioner also gave the delegates a detailed report of the first days of Expo 2017 Astana, including the National Days that have already taken place. On the site of the Expo, visitors are now able to discover the newest innovations in the field of renewable energy through a number of specialised pavilions that linked to the theme of the Expo, “Future Energy”. Five million visitors are expected to pass through the gates of the Expo over its three month duration, with over 1 million tickets already having been sold.

Yerbol Shormanov, Vice President of Expo 2017 Astana

The Vice President of Expo 2017 Astana, Yerbol Shormanov informed delegates about the Expo’s vast cultural and entertainment programme, which includes thousands of activities throughout the Summer. Visitors can enjoy musical, artistic and theme-related events, ranging from a special production of the Cirque du Soleil to daily shows at Nur Alem and national day related activities. The Expo’s thematic programme will shortly begin and will include a range of scientific, business and sustainable development conferences in addition to the Future Energy Forum, which starts on 29 June and will run until 5 September.

The organisers of Expo 2017 Astana concluded their speech at the General Assembly by reiterating their invitation to the BIE Member States to contribute to the development of green energy and to visit the Expo.