2452b) has limited the State Department’s ability to spend appropriated funds on a pavilion, and financing U.S. Since the end of the Cold War, federal law (22 U.S.C. participation in world’s fairs, events that I have referred to as the “Olympics of public diplomacy” (see “ World’s Fairs Today: A Visit to Milan, Lessons for Dubai,” in the October 2015 FSJ). After Expo 2015 Milan, I wrote about the history of U.S. participation in world’s fairs.Īs a newly minted junior officer, I wrote to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) encouraging participation in Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan, and later to the executive secretary about Expo 2010 Shanghai. In college, I wrote an article for Frankfurt’s Community Liaison Office newsletter and a letter to my congressman advocating federal funding for U.S. I became expo-obsessed and have attended every world expo since. Seeing that empty, grassy field where the USA Pavilion should have been-due to funding challenges, the United States had missed the fair altogether-changed my life forever. I joined the Foreign Service after visiting Hannover Expo 2000 as a 20-year-old intern at U.S. My introduction to world’s fairs was Taejon Expo 1993, a specialized exposition and one of the first held in a developing country. But when a colleague in the regional bureau asked, “Why do you need so much money to build a tent in the desert?” the extent of our public awareness challenge became clear. And the last world’s fair in the United States was in 1984, nearly four decades ago, in New Orleans. Further, the public-private partnership model of the last three decades meant that few State colleagues had the opportunity to work on the project. Also, there are legal limits on domestic messaging regarding foreign policy (Smith-Mundt).
Historically, the fairs were executed by a different agency that no longer exists (USIA, the U.S. It is curious, too, that so few colleagues-public diplomacy or otherwise-have worked on what is arguably the world’s largest public diplomacy event. Today, many are unaware what a world’s fair is, that it still exists and even fewer have ever been to one. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket replica at the USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. And it is a testament to our private partners who contributed to creating a pavilion experience that the American people, regardless of political affiliation, could be proud of.įor me, it is the story of a 30-year journey from my first visit to a world’s fair in Taejon, South Korea, to serving as the deputy commissioner general at the USA Pavilion in Dubai. It is a tribute to the hundreds of colleagues who brought the pavilion to life against all odds in the midst of a global pandemic. This is the story of the journey to Expo 2020 Dubai and its legacy. 29, 2022, to fund the government enables the State Department- for the first time ever-to spend money on a U.S. Significantly, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 President Joe Biden signed into law on Dec. In overcoming them, we proved that the State Department could manage this $60 million project, and that it was worth doing again in the future. government dithering to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the obstacles were daunting. From long-standing issues of funding and the inertia of several decades of U.S.
participation in Expo 2020, the first world’s fair to take place in the Middle East–North Africa–South Asia (MENASA) region, was a resounding success, not least because it almost didn’t happen at all. It was all put together and managed by the USA Pavilion team of more than 300 colleagues, who engaged our diverse guests in more than 30 languages.īy all accounts, U.S. There had been 378 performers and speakers, from all 50 states, and 175 events attended by almost 9,000 individuals. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico participated in telling America’s story to the world.
Seventy-two youth ambassadors representing 37 U.S. There were 5,440 distinguished “protocol” visitors from 109 countries. No fewer than 1.5 million visitors from 164 countries had visited the pavilion in six months. Air Forces Central Band brought down the house with a rousing “God Bless the USA.” Over on the main Expo 2020 stages, Christina Aguilera, Yo-Yo Ma, and Norah Jones finished their concerts, and fireworks rounded out the night. Our last visitors, a local Indian family, exited the pavilion as the U.S. On March 31, 2022, the USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai celebrating “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of the Future” closed its doors. The USA Pavilion illuminated at night in Dubai, 2021.
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