Singapore Tourism Board to showcase Singapore at World Exposition, Japan

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will be showcasing the many unique aspects of Singapore to some 15 million visitors from Japan and around the world, expected at the 2005 World Exposition (World Expo), which will be held from 25 March to 25 September 2005 in Aichi, Japan. 

Singapore’s nature, street scenes, delicacies, culture, colourful festivals, traditions and heritage will be featured at the Expo, alongside more than 130 countries that will be participating in the World Expo.

Key Features of Singapore Pavilion

Spanning 972 square metres, Singapore’s Pavilion is designed based on the theme “World Without Walls”. Visitors to the Pavilion will get a ‘sneak preview’ of Singapore and experience its colourful sights and sounds, its multi-faceted cultures and beauty through multi-sensory and interactive displays and exhibits, as well as personal accounts of Singaporeans, and Japanese who have worked or lived in Singapore.

The Singapore Pavilion is made of the following thematic zones :

Talking Trees

Three ‘talking’ trees will greet visitors as they enter the Singapore Pavilion. The image of the host will be projected on the leaves of the trees. Visitors can interact with the host, and request for information about the Pavilion or Singapore.

Urban Nature

This zone depicts the balance Singapore maintains between its urban environment and lush greenery. Here, visitors can enjoy a multi-sensory experience of being in a rainforest complete lightning, thunder and rain. The rain will last for 30 to 40 seconds at 30-minute intervals. About 900 litres of water will be used for each interval of rainfall. The special lightning effects will be created by strobe lights, while a total of 7,500 glass-made leaves hang from the trees. The Singapore Pavilion is the only Pavilion to feature rainfall at the World Expo. A total of 1,800 gallons of water will be recycled for water features at the Pavilion, including the rainfall at Urban Nature.

The Street

The Street, an 18-metre walkway, will feature the vibrancy and bustle of Singapore’s street scene through a video collage projected on a curved wall along the walkway. Live performances featuring Singapore’s local art and cultural scenes will also be staged here to bring alive the images of Singapore’s exciting street activities from dawn to dusk. 

Taste of Culture

From the end of The Street, visitors will come to a wall of 280 acrylic medicine boxes containing traditional herbs and spices. Sacks of local spices, including cinnamon, pepper and herbs will also be suspended in mid-air from bamboo stilts used traditionally for construction of a stage for Chinese street-side ‘opera’ performance.

Visitors will also get the rare opportunity to ‘go backstage’ to see some of Singapore’s performance artistes prepare for a show, including the painting of faces and donning of elaborate costumes involved in Chinese opera – all set against a three-dimensional backdrop depicting one of Singapore’s tourism icons, the Esplanade.

Recycling Memories

Set up like a library, this zone stores 2005 unique stories and memories of Singaporeans and Japanese who have visited, lived or worked in Singapore. Artwork or artefacts contributed by these individuals are encased in a box designed to resemble a hardcover book.

World Café

Virtual guides will provide visitors a tour of Singapore’s food haunts and share the delights of Singapore’s rich food culture and tasty cuisine. There will also be live cooking demonstrations and sampling of Singapore’s ‘must-try’ local fare including Hainanese chicken rice, char kway teow (Chinese fried rice noodles with dark sweet soya sauce), roti prata (traditional Indian fried pancake), and satay (Malay bite-sized chicken and beef in a sweet-spicy marinate and grilled on wooden skewers).

STB’s Programme Director for World Expo, Ms Chandrika Shantilal, said, “Japan and Singapore have excellent bilateral relations. Singapore’s participation at the Expo reinforces our commitment to strengthen Singapore’s relationship with Japan and the rest of the world, as we join the international community at the Expo to deepen global ties and strengthen mutual understanding.” 

“Japan remains a key market for Singapore and we hope that by showcasing the various unique elements of Singapore - its history, culture, cuisine at the Expo, it will entice more people to visit Singapore. With the expected turnout of 15 million visitors from Japan and the rest of the world, the World Expo is a strong and effective platform to showcase Singapore as an ideal place to work, play and live – an attractive destination not just for leisure travel, but for education and investment as well.”

Themed Activities

Through themed activities to be held each month at the Pavilion, visitors will be able to take a peek at the diversity of Singapore’s culture, and how the traditional and modern co-exist in harmony. For example, visitors will be able to sample a wide array of Singapore delicacies and shop for Singapore souvenirs during the “Shop and Eat” months of March and April. Local talents and products designed in Singapore will be featured in July. As part of the “Culture” theme in August and September, visitors will be able to see cultural performances and learn about the ethnic diversity of Singapore. There are also plans to stage an event in celebration of Singapore’s 40th anniversary.

Singapore’s participation at past World Expositions includes the Expo held in 1986 in Vancouver, Canada; in 1988 in Brisbane, Australia; in 1992 in Seville, Spain and in 2000 in Hanover, Germany.

The Singapore Pavilion at World Expo 2005 is located at Global Common 6, between the North Gate and the West Gate of the World Expo.

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