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Each country participating in Expo 2020 Dubai will be able to celebrate their national day — or an honour day — during the six-month event.
Al Wasl Plaza will host the celebrations, which will include raising the country’s flag and playing its national anthem, organisers revealed on Thursday.
The countries will then provide entertainment in the form of a cultural performance at the plaza.
“Each of the participants also has the opportunity to lead our daily parade, which will happen every day, on site, at Expo,” Kate Randall, vice president of events and entertainment at Expo 2020 Dubai, told a media briefing.
An honour day will be held for countries whose national days do not fall within the six months of the event.
When two national days or honour days are held on the same day, one will be observed in the morning and one in the afternoon.
One of the highlights of the six-month Expo will be the celebration of the UAE Golden Jubilee, held over the course of a month, starting in early November.
Artists from the 191 nations at Expo will feature in the busy entertainment programme, which will include home-grown talent, regional favourites and global headliners.
The Christmas-New Year period, Diwali and Chinese New Year will be among the entertainment highlights at Expo, but organisers have said to also expect daily events.
Oscar-winning AR Rahman’s pioneering women's ensemble, the Firdaus Orchestra, and Bollywood sensation Sonam Kapoor are two of the acts that will appear.
In addition to music, the entertainment schedule will include dance, theatre, spoken word, immersive projections and light installations as well as fitness and wellness activities.
Expo 2020 will also have an extensive business programme, with many countries using the first major global event since the start of the pandemic as an opportunity to re-engage with trade partners and establish new ties.
The programme includes 13 business forums that are being organised in collaboration with Dubai Chamber of Commerce, and a further 10 forums that will run alongside each of Expo’s theme weeks.