Only 30 days to go, here’s what you should know about Expo 2020 Dubai

Another full moon cycle and Expo 2020 Dubai will finally open its long-awaited majestic gates to the world. In only 30 nights, we get to taste glow-in-the-dark ice cream and kangaroo meat, watch a ‘teqball’ match, tour a vertical farm, see Timbuktu’s prized manuscripts and so much more. Coming to Dubai is an amalgamation of humanity’s historic feats, trailblazing ideas and invaluable masterminds striding towards one objective: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. While we count mere days to October 1, here’s a list of 30 unmissable things to see and do during the 182-day event.

Visiting Expo 2020 Dubai means having an everyday interaction with some of the 150 robots whirring about. Terminus Technologies, Expo’s official robotics partner, is bringing in friendly (and admittedly cute) robots embossed with the fair’s logo that you can take pictures with, approach for directions or even have a snack delivered by.

The Saudi Arabia Pavilion won three Guinness World Records for the largest interactive lighting floor, longest interactive water feature and the largest LED mirror screen.

Talabat is the official food delivery provider for Expo 2020. Catch its e-scooters zooming around the site to deliver food from its cloud kitchen, which will also include a dine-in experience where visitors can try 15 different cuisines.

Ever wonder what the world will look like hundreds of years from now? At the Bompas & Parr Epochal Banquet, which aims to transport you to the year 2321, you will be served bioluminescent food, levitating cakes, the world’s lightest dessert and more. All of this is inspired by scientist James Lovelock’s Novacene theory that predicts the existence of hyper-intelligent beings living among us.

Pablo Picasso’s world-famous Cubism art style was in fact inspired by the Guinean headdress D’mba (or Nimba), the deity of fertility, which was on display at the 1900 World Expo in Paris. The Guinea Pavilion will, too, welcome visitors with a sculpture of D’mba at the entrance for a brief touristy moment.

The 800 white acoustic panels made of fibre and polyester in the final leg of the visitor journey at the Italy Pavilion absorbs all sound, so much so that you can literally listen to the sound of silence.

At the DEWA Pavilion, visitors will get to see the Solar Decathlon model houses, designed by university students, on display. The Solar Decathlon Middle East is a university level competition that challenges students to create sustainable houses running on sunshine.

The design of the Russia Pavilion’s architecture draws from the structure of the traditional matryoshka toy or wooden nested dolls. The seven-metre high dome which imitates the larger dome of the pavilion façade might even evoke nostalgic feelings of playing with your childhood toys.

The French Revolution of 1789 is said to have been triggered by a collection of daring and progressive books titled ‘The Encyclopedie’, edited by Diderot and d’Alembert. All 35 of the original volumes will be showcased at a permanent exhibition in the France Pavilion, thanks to a generous loan by the French National Archives.

At Expo, we’re even turning the desert soil into a verdant garden. The Czech Republic Pavilion will be maintaining its garden by extracting water from the air and treating it with subsurface cultures to cultivate arid soil. The special algae-containing water will travel through 12-metre-tall organic capillaries forming a cloud of pipes above the pavilion building.

Look to the ancient Australian sky in the pavilion’s very own planetarium that will tell the emotional story of and honour Aboriginal astronomy.

In the Estonia Pavilion, you’ll get your drinks served by Yanu. This is a smart robotic arm powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can prepare up to 100 drinks per hour.

In November, visit Expo to try your hand at an intense jiu-jitsu training session, held by the Brazil Pavilion. It will also be the largest of its kind in the world to date.

A daily outdoor light festival called Kaleidoscope will illuminate the Expo site every night, colouring main attractions in photography, light and visual arts. Another fun fact is that the choice of photos, sourced from Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Photography (HIPA) contest, will reflect each subtheme of Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility.

Speaking of kaleidoscope, at the Netherlands Pavilion your hands and clothes will be dappled in curious patterns. This is the magic of 60 colourful paper-thin solar panels, courtesy of solar designer Marjan van Aubel, in the ceiling. The plastic panels power the vertical cone farm with clean energy and provide it with colour-coded sunlight, wavelengths that are best absorbed by plants.

More than 20 star chefs who represent Michelin-starred restaurants are coming to Expo 2020 Dubai. Get your taste buds to tingle with brand new eatery concepts such at David Myers’ Adrift Burger Bar, Geoffrey Zakarian’s breakfast-to-dinner bistro and African dining hall. From people who take their bread seriously to sustainable foodies in search of vegan cookies, there is literally a place at the table for everyone.

For chess fans, Expo has in its hands the first chess set ever played in space, more specifically by cosmonauts on spacecraft Soyuz 3 and Soyuz 4 in 1968 and then 1969. In zero gravity, the game board was designed with pegs and grooves to hold the pieces in place. And guess what? The FIDE World Chess Championship will be held on Expo grounds as well from November to December this year.

Are you one of the millions who love football, and do you also enjoy the occasional ping pong game? Then you might be interested in a new sport called ‘teqball’, where two players kick a ball over a table. This combination of football and table tennis will be seen in matches hosted by Hungary, the origin country of the sport.

At the Mali Pavilion visitors will get to see the digitised pages of Timbuktu’s salvaged ancient manuscripts, which hold a trove of centuries-old information on Greek philosophy, poetry, astronomy and other various topics, along with Malian artwork and folktales.

Gothic tomb jewellery belonging to a noble woman of the city of Domagnano has been recreated especially for the fair by the San Marino Pavilion. One of the scattered pieces from the original collection even ended up in Abu Dhabi’s Louvre – the unnamed woman’s eagle-shaped brooch retrieved in the 19th century.

Carl & The Reda Mafia, As Per Casper, Jaye & Foe and NOON all have only one thing in common – they're UAE-based bands set to get the Expo crowd pumping with their live stage presence and musical fusions.

Ever tried Kangaroo meat? If you’re all about accumulating new experiences, you can have a taste this coming October at Australia’s pavilion.

Watch the story of the Emirati poet who swallowed the moon on the largest 360-degree projection dome at the Al Wasl Plaza. ‘Ousha and the Moon’ and many more shows will come to life in a unique audio-visual treat for the eyes and ears at Expo’s centrepiece daily.

Did you know? Nine of the country pavilions, including Malawi (pictured), Djibouti, Granada and Myanmar, are the brainchild of students.

Walk in shallow water at the Brazil Pavilion and watch scenes from the Latin American country’s vibrant nightlife project on to the walls all around you, without getting wet.

Remember the Terminus robots? You can even meet mascot Opti, a fun-sized orange robot representing Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion.

Engineers and mathematicians may be able to recognise the Hamilton equation, which completely revolutionized the study of quantum mechanics and arithmetic, at the gates of the Irish Pavilion. A pair of equations and their mathematical diagrams are illustrated on its façade, in honour of Sir William Rowand Hamilton.

This world fair intends to be the most sustainable one ever hosted yet, which means 50 per cent of its energy mix is to be clean. Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, is going to help Expo achieve this goal.

Each of the 191 participating countries have a special national day dedicated to them, which includes site-wide celebrations, a flag-hoisting ceremony and cultural performances.

Wondering how you will get to the Expo? Seventy low-carbon-emission RTA buses from nine locations in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Fujairah will transport visitors to the Expo site.