Sweden breaks ground on Expo 2020 pavilion
Sweden is the latest country to have broken ground on its Expo 2020 country pavilion, known as ‘The Forest’. The theme of the pavilion is said to be ‘Co-creation for Innovation’ and will have a major focus on sustainability.
The start of construction was marked with a tree planting ceremony, which was conducted by the Swedish Minister for Foreign Trade, Anna Hallberg. The executive director of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, joined the Swedish minister at the ceremony.
“Building the pavilion itself in a renewable material is completely in line with both Swedish priorities and the strong climate focus on the world exhibition,” said Hallberg.
Tree planting is said to align with the ambition to build the pavilion entirely in wood, to minimise its impact on the climate, Hallberg explained.
She also underlined the importance of global co-creation, and stated that the country’s focus on combining innovative solutions with sustainable practices, is the main reason for building the Swedish pavilion in the sustainability district of the Expo 2020 site.
Henrik Landerholm, ambassador of Sweden to the UAE added, “I’m very proud to witness the ground-breaking for the construction of Sweden’s pavilion at the Expo 2020 in Dubai – in just one year the eyes of the world will be focused on the UAE and this will be an opportunity for the country to showcase state-of-the-art technology and innovative and sustainable solutions.”
He continued, “The image of Sweden is very positive in the UAE, generally associated with nature and beautiful landscapes as well as the strong recycling culture. We want to show that Sweden is also an innovative and prominent hi-tech country with world-leading companies and that there are major business and collaboration opportunities.”
According to a statement, a special film that was produced by the Swedish Expo organisation on the country’s sustainable and large-scale forest cultivation was shown to guests at the tree planting ceremony. While viewing the film, guests were transported to the plains of the Dalarna region where the trees for the Swedish pavilion were picked up last spring. For each tree harvested for the pavilion, three new ones will be planted, said senior officials.
“Our pavilion will showcase the best that Sweden has to offer within research and innovation. Building the pavilion itself in a renewable material is completely in line with both Swedish priorities and the strong climate focus of the world exhibition,” Landerholm concluded.
