Food, design, fun and Serbia - What can visitors expect from Expo 2015 in Milan (PHOTO)

"Tree of Life" behind the Italian pavilion (Photo: Suzana Obradović)

Excellent food from all parts of the world, unusual entertainment, mix of cultures, new technology, futuristic design, hidden diplomacy are only some of the characteristics of Expo Milan 2015. The event under the slogan "Feed the Planet. Energy for Life" is open for six months, until October 31st. This grandiose event, in which EUR 7 billion have been invested, should attract about 20 million visitors and, thus, become the most massive happening this year.

On a vest area of former industrial zone in the vicinity of Milan, 145 countries are presenting themselves, while 53 of them have built large national pavilions. Other countries with small pavilions are classified into 9 different thematic groups.

The moment you step onto the fairground, aside from a great expanse, you will notice architectural bravuras and designer booths and space surrounding pavilions. In order to stick out in a great offer, certain countries invested a large amount of money and hired famous architects. Some pavilions are designed to exude a global message, others primarily aim to present their tourism potential, while the third put accent on gastronomy... Also, the latest technological achievement are applied, so that the most expensive pavilions feature numerous three-dimensional video effects.

queue for the pavilion of the United Arab Emirates (Photo: Suzana Obradović)

Unofficially, the United Arab Emirates invested EUR 40 milllion in its pavilion at Expo Milan 2015, so it's not suprising that there's constantly a long queue in front of its entrance. This pavilion focuses on innovative solutions the UAE developed in the field of land, food, energy and water.

It takes few days to tour all pavilions, so it is best for those who want to get more information about certain countries instead of just taking a look at their booths to focus on what they find the most interesting. At the entrance to Expo Milan 2015, visitors can take a map for easier getting around. The central exhibition corridor is 1.56 km long with pavilions on each side. Behind the Italian pavilion is a so-called "tree of life" - a 37-meter multimedia structure amid an artificial lake producing a light, water and music show at the end of each day.

The famous Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, the world's largest theatrical producer which combines art, acrobatic acts and theater, created a show focusing on healthy food specially for Expo Milan 2015 - "Allavita". It will be performed every night on an open stage until August 30th. By the end of October, thousands of events and presentations are planned to take place.

the booth of Cuba (Photo: Suzana Obradović)

Top chefs present their national cuisines at this event by preparing specialties to delight visitors. Almost all big pavilions have their own restaurants - French, Italian, Russian, Brazilian, Japanese... One of the Italian pavilions even offer visitors to get familiar with the history of wine through multimedia presentations.

As part of the Cocoa and Chocolate cluster, Cuba, Gabon, Ghana and Cameroon offer visitors to taste different kinds of chocolate and organize various chocolate-themed performances.

The world food exhibition is also accompanied by diplomatic activities. The arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited Expo on June 10th and met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, caught the attention of both visitors and media.

The Italian government encourages this political dimension of the event in a bid to create an international document at the World Expo and, thus, create a basis for global food safety, fight against famine, and guaranteed quality food.

Although the opening of the World Expo was preceded by few protests in Milan, primarily due to large food chains participating in the Expo, inhabitants of the city of fashion and design had nothing but positive comments about the World Expo - they are satisfied with the increased number of tourists.

(Photo: Suzana Obradović)

Serbia at Expo Milan 2015

Our country is doing its best to use all the advantages of the World Expo in Milan in the best possible way. Under the slogan "Taste the Food. Feel the Life," Serbia presents its offer in a typical 250 square meter pavilion, which our country got from Italy for free. Our pavilion is situated within the Bio-Mediterranean cluster, in the vicinity of Italian pavilions that expectedly take up the largest space at the expo. Other countries within the Bio-Mediterranean cluster are Greece, Egypt, Tunis, Montenegro, Albania, Algeria, Lebanon, San Marino, and Malta.

The pavilion of Serbia is also a place where domestic companies will present their products. Considering that Italy was the main export partner and the second most important import partner of Serbia in the first four months of this year, it is expected that companies will try to turn our pavilion into a dynamic location of business meetings.

As we were informed, our pavilion in June attracts about 1,000 tourists on a daily basis, and this number is expected to grow in the following period.

Suzana Obradovic