The BIE Day Awards Ceremony was held this evening, during which the recipients of the Expo 2020 Dubai Official Participant Awards were announced. Held on the eve of the closing of the Expo, the Awards Ceremony also included the attribution of BIE Medals, celebrating all those who have made major contributions to the success of the World Expo, and the Expo 2020 Dubai UAE Innovates Awards.

Official Participant Awards

The recipients of the Official Participant Awards were decided by an international jury composed of nine experts in a range of relevant fields. The jury visited each international pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai during the course of two sessions, in January and March of 2022.

Split into five different categories according to the size and type of pavilion, the Official Participant Awards recognise three aspects of pavilions: architecture and landscape (for self-built pavilions only), exhibition design, and theme interpretation. A total of 51 Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards were handed out during the ceremony, which took place in Jubilee Park on the Expo 2020 Dubai site.

Below is the list of all recipients:

Architecture & Landscape

●Self-built pavilions - Category A (larger than 2,500m2)

Gold Award – Saudi Arabia

Silver Award – Switzerland

Bronze Award – China

●Self-built pavilions –Category B (between 1,750m2 and 2,500m2)

Gold Award – Netherlands

Silver Award – Austria

Bronze Award – Gulf Cooperation Council

●Self-built pavilions –Category C (smaller than 1,750m2)

Gold Award – Singapore

Silver Award – Finland

Bronze Award – Qatar

Exhibition Design

●Self-built pavilions - Category A (larger than 2,500m2)

Gold Award – Japan

Silver Award – Pakistan

Bronze Award – Spain

●Self-built pavilions –Category B (between 1,750m2 and 2,500m2)

Gold Award – Peru

Silver Award – Poland

Bronze Award – Egypt

●Self-built pavilions –Category C (smaller than 1,750m2)

Gold Award – Morocco

Silver Award – Algeria

Bronze Award – Palestine

●Rented pavilions

Gold Award – Mexico

Silver Award – Latvia

Bronze Award – Montenegro

●Thematic District pavilions - Opportunity

Gold Award - Tonga

Silver Award – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bronze Award - Fiji

●Thematic District pavilions - Sustainability

Gold Award - Seychelles

Silver Award – Cambodia

Bronze Award - Suriname

●Thematic District pavilions - Mobility

Gold Award – Holy See

Silver Award – Côte d'Ivoire

Bronze Award - Jamaica

Theme Interpretation

●Self-built pavilions - Category A (larger than 2,500m2)

Gold Award – Germany

Silver Award – Kazakhstan

Bronze Award – Italy

●Self-built pavilions –Category B (between 1,750m2 and 2,500m2)

Gold Award – Oman

Silver Award – Hungary

Bronze Award – Sweden

●Self-built pavilions –Category C (smaller than 1,750m2)

Gold Award – Malaysia

Silver Award – Lithuania

Bronze Award – Colombia

●Rented pavilions

Gold Award – Syria

Silver Award – Gabon

Bronze Award – Viet Nam

●Thematic District pavilions - Opportunity

Gold Award - Rwanda

Silver Award – Ethiopia

Bronze Award - Kyrgyzstan

●Thematic District pavilions - Sustainability

Gold Award - Yemen

Silver Award – Guinea

Bronze Award - Comoros

●Thematic District pavilions - Mobility

Gold Award – El Salvador

Silver Award – Moldova

Bronze Award – Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

BIE Medals

The BIE Medals recognise the organisations and individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the success of the Expo.

The Gold Medal, the BIE's highest honour, was awarded to:

The Government of the United Arab Emirates, accepted by H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Commissioner-General of Expo 2020 Dubai.

The Government of Dubai, accepted by H.E. Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai.

The Higher Committee of Expo 2020 Dubai:

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, and Chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee

H.E. Mohammed Al Shaibani, Director General of H.H. The Ruler's Court of Dubai, UAE

H.E. Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai

H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology

H.E. Lieutenant General Abdullah Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan Higher Committee and Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)

H.E. Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai's Department of Economy & Tourism

H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Tourism

H.E. Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties

H.E. Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman - Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects

H.E. Eng. Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality

Expo 2020 Dubai Key Stakeholders:

H.E. Maj. Gen. Talal Hamid Belhoul, Director-General of the State Security Department, Dubai

H.E. Lieutenant General Mohammed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai

H.E. Maj. Gen. Rashid Al Matrooshi, Director-General of Dubai Civil Defense

Dr. Amer Sharif, Chair of the Dubai Covid-19 Command and Control Centre

Dr. Hanan Al Suwaidi, Chair of Testing stream at the Covid-19 Command and Control Centre

H.E. Ahmad Musabih, Director General, Dubai Customs

H.H. Maj. Gen. Sheikh Ahmed bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of the National Service and Reserve Authority

H.E. Khalifa Al Darrai, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services

H.E. Khalid Belhoul, Undersecretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, UAE

H.E. Mohammad Abdulla Al Junaibi, Chairman of the Federal Protocol and Strategic Narrative Authority, Ministry of Presidential Affairs

H.E. Khalifa Saeed Sulaiman, Chairman of Protocols for the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Dubai Protocol

International Participants of Expo 2020 Dubai, accepted by Mr. Manuel Salchli Chairman of the College of Commissioners General

The Silver Medal was awarded to:

Volunteers of Expo 2020 Dubai, accepted by Ms. Marjan Faraidooni, Chief of HR and Visitor Experience, Expo 2020 Dubai

Youth of the United Arab Emirates, accepted by H.E. Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth, United Arab Emirates

Press & Media, accepted by H.E. Mona Al-Marri, Director General of the Government of Dubai Media Office

UAE Innovates Awards

The UAE Innovates Awards, an initiative first launched in February 2021 to celebrate innovative ideas in the UAE, dedicates awards to the Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions that have showcased impressive innovations with regards to Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability.

The Best Innovation that Achieves Sustainability was awarded to:

The Netherlands' pavilion for the Vertical Farm

Italy's pavilion for its ISO 20121 sustainability certification

The Best Innovation that Creates Opportunity was awarded to:

The Czech Republic's pavilion for the S.A.W.E.R. water production system

Tunisia's pavilion for the P-Guard autonomous patrolling robot

The Best Innovation that Drives Mobility was awarded to:

Saudi Arabia's pavilion for its inclined lifts

Sweden's pavilion for the Incedo security system

Awarding participation is a longstanding tradition of Expos, dating back to the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London – the first World Expo. After a pause during which Expos did not feature awards, they were reintroduced ahead of Expo 2005 Aichi.

Organised under the theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future", Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. Expo 2020 Dubai is the largest global gathering to take place since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, gathering over 190 countries from around the world, and having received over 23 million visits since it opened its gates on 1 October 2021.