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The child star of the Expo 2020 Dubai opening ceremony has returned to the site, 10 days after wowing the world with her performance.
Mira Singh, 11, visited the Belarus pavilion as a special guest because her mother, Svetlana, is from the country. Her father, Jitendra Pal Singh, is from India.
Tourists snapped pictures as she toured the pavilion with a guide speaking in Russian, one of the three languages she speaks fluently, along with English and Hindi.
Her parents proudly described the onslaught of media attention she has received since her opening ceremony appearance, but Mira was poised and charming on her first official visit to the world’s fair.
The young actress said she felt at home in the pavilion.
“I love Belarus. My relatives live there, my grandma and my grandfather. What I loved in this pavilion was the tree – I love the nature in Belarus, and the tree really connected with me.”
The three-storey Belarus pavilion includes a trio of exhibits dedicated to innovations, investments and the individual.
Named “the Forest of Future Technology”, the pavilion centrepiece is a textile art installation of a tree. Standing nine metres tall, it was inspired by the idea of nature and technology coexisting.
A new celebrity
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Dubai-born Mira Singh played the part of a young girl whose journey creates the Expo story at the heart of the show. All photos: Expo 2020 Dubai -
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli with Mira Singh during the Expo 2020 Dubai opening ceremony. -
The story of the opening ceremony show was told through the eyes of a young Emirati girl, played by Mira, who represents hope for all people. -
Unsure of her path forward, Mira she is presented with an ancient golden ring by a wise elder, played by Emirati actor and playwright Habib Guloom. The ring, based on a 3,000-year-old artefact, is both a symbol of the UAE's past and a future built on connection. -
As the young girl makes her journey though our ideal world, representing sustainability, mobility and opportunity, she grows in confidence and is rewarded with the golden seed of humanity. -
Mira Singh's part in the opening ceremony was described by its creators as “a young local girl observing the challenges of today and representing hope for the future”. -
On stage at Al Wasl Plaza, Mira's role included climbing a ladder during a dazzling sequence that showed the creation of the world.
After the tour, Mira was presented with traditional Belarusian gifts and asked to sign the visitor book as the pavilion’s first celebrity guest. She said she was thrilled by the opportunity.
“I never treat myself as famous or important, and when they asked me to sign the visitor book I felt really happy, and I just wrote what came to my heart,” she said.
As the sun set, the Singh family discussed which pavilion they should visit next.
“India, because my father is from India, and China because I want to see what they’ve invented, and Russia, and a lot more,” Mira said.
“To be in the opening ceremony of Expo 2020 was the biggest accomplishment of my life. It feels amazing to be back.”
