Expo 2020 Dubai will be over in less than one month, but we can already say that the city of the future will never be the same again. Dubai has once for all become one of the main global hubs for all cultures of the world.
The UAE has proved once again its ability to address challenges and seize opportunities by offering a chance to the entire world to meet, connect and share achievements, inventions, innovations and cultures in the middle of a pandemic, confirming itself as one of the best prepared countries in the Region to deal with the Covid crisis.
With 192 participating nations and more than 11 million visitors in four months, Expo 2020 is not only the first World Fair to be held in the Middle East, but also the most diverse in the history of the event: all nations were represented and no participating entity has been at a disadvantage in terms of opportunity and economic possibility.
The organisation supported the least developed countries by offering them pavilions to participate in the event for a period of six months to showcase their national identity, between tradition and innovation, engaging in cultural exchanges with all the other participating countries.
With Expo 2020, UAE has finally proved to have become a soft superpower and Dubai the new world capital of cultural diplomacy.
During the past months, Dubai hosted permanent art installations, artistic performances and cultural events at a scale and concentration unlike any other city in this period. For sure because of Expo, but not only.
This is just the ultimate outcome of a structured development strategy based on an enlightened political vision defined by the Emirati leadership, launched many years ago around the concept of tolerance, focused on art, tourism, education, science, implemented by using cultural diplomacy tools and media diplomacy.
Since the 2000’s, UAE has established itself as a successful model for the region and the world, by gradually investing in building a very articulated and structured cultural ecosystem, based on heritage, innovation and sustainability.
Culture is playing more and more a vital role in improving the ability of UAE to strengthen relations with governments and citizens around the world. The opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Opera are just two exceptional examples of this.
The tangible and intangible legacy of Expo 2020 represents a further extraordinary opportunity for the country (and the Region) to play not only an increasing leading role on a geopolitical level, but to influence and guide the definition of the multicultural society of tomorrow.
Paolo Petrocelli is a senior performing arts manager, university professor and journalist
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