A member of staff cleans audience seats Thursday in preparation for the evening fireworks display today to mark the opening of the World Expo in Shanghai. The Expo officially opens tomorrow. Photo: CFP
After nearly eight years of preparation and six rounds of trial runs, Shanghai will kick off its massive World Expo tonight with fireworks and an opening extravaganza, a day before the showcase opens its gates to visitors from all over the world.
The foreign ministry revealed Thursday that 20 heads of state and government will attend the opening ceremony, and Chinese President Hu Jintao, who paid a visit to the Expo park Thursday, was scheduled to meet them.
Their arrival means Shanghai will see the largest number of foreign leaders gather in the city since 1843, when it became an open port.
"The Expo is yet another important international gathering following the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games," Hu said when meeting Denis Sassou Nguesso and Ali Bongo Ondimba, his counterparts from the Republic of Congo and Gabon, respectively.
"With the strong support from other developing nations, China was sure to host a successful, spectacular and memorable exposition."
Shanghai, China's most cosmopolitan city, has made unprecedented efforts in preparation for the Expo. Local officials said that direct investment in the Expo, both governmental and private, is 28.6 billion yuan ($4.2 billion), including the venue's construction and six-month operation.
If the cost of infrastructure is included, the total budget would be between 300 billion and 400 billion yuan ($44 billion to $58.5 billion), the Shanghai-based 21st Century Business Herald reported.
The city has spruced up the Bund, a strip of historic riverfront buildings, added hundreds of kilometers of subway lines and built new terminals at its domestic and international airports.
In a tightening of security, subway stations are conducting more baggage checks, and guards have been stationed on all buses of the 42 Expo routes and at thousands of bus stops. In all, 8,000 firemen will be on fist-degree alert today and tomorrow.
Expo visitors to will have to pass through airport-style safety checks before being allowed to enter the park, following the same standards as the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Mo Jihong, a professor at the Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the organization of the Expo involves nationwide support, and all kinds of resources can be mobilized at short notice.
"It can also help enhance national cohesion and give people a sense of participation," he said, adding that China can bring a new dynamic to the 159-year-old global event by investing tremendous efforts to host it.
