Expo 2020 Dubai has turned to Barcelona and Argentina football star Lionel Messi for a new video-led campaign, Expo announced on Monday.
In the video, the footballer and people around the planet work together to keep an Expo 2020-branded ball airborne.
Leo Messi kicks it off for Expo 2020 Dubai in support of unity and collaboration. #Expo2020 #hayyakum2020 pic.twitter.com/1d2G5obsdg
— Expo 2020 Dubai (@expo2020dubai) May 6, 2019
Shot in the UAE, India, the UK and Kenya, the video was made to celebrate diversity and its ability to break down barriers.
“A football team can only succeed by working together, and the same is true of humanity,” Messi said. “When people from different nations, cultures and backgrounds come together we can better address global challenges and create a brighter future for generations to come.”
In 2016, Messi – who is also a UN Sustainable Development Goals advocate and UNICEF goodwill ambassador – was appointed as an Expo global ambassador.
“As undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest footballers, Lionel Messi embodies Expo 2020’s global role as a facilitator of new ideas, innovation and progress,” said Sanjive Khosla, Expo 2020 Dubai’s deputy chief of sales and marketing.
Khosla added that “the new campaign video uses football to show that when we connect and collaborate, we can build a brighter tomorrow together.”
The video, Messi’s first with Expo, was created by a multinational team and includes music with an Arabic melody and a call for togetherness in an African dialect.
As part of the initiative, Expo will also gift over 6,060 footballs to children living in Jordan, Kenya and the Philippines, with 2,020 balls going to each country.
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