Expo Milano 2015

I love fairs. Whether it’s a street fair in Paris, the Hong Kong Book Fair, the Seville Feria, the Bergen Food Festival in Norway or the Frampton Country Fair in Gloucester, I enjoy them all. But, by far, the best are the world’s fairs and expositions (expos) that are sanctioned by the Bureau of International Exhibitions and which take place every two to five years.

The purpose of these fairs is to bring people of the world together around a theme of global importance. The next expo is Expo Milano 2015, to be held in the northern Italian city of Milan, Europe’s capital of fashion and design, May 1-Oct. 31, 2015. Its theme will be “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.”

I’ve attended expos in the US, in Seville, Spain (1992) and in Aichi, Japan (2005). I enjoy seeing how various nations each display their culture, music, dance, dress, industries and technology. 

For my wife and me, highlights include displays showing visions of the future; pavilion architecture, ranging from traditional to futuristic; the excitement and displays of color on the midway; the food, including that offered at kiosks as well as in more formal dinner outlets, and the chance to casually meet visitors from around the world.

Approximately 150 countries will participate in Expo ’15, featuring their histories, architecture and culinary traditions and focusing on social and economic issues related to the production and consumption of food.

Included among the 60 pavilions will be the centerpiece Italian pavilion, which will attempt to answer the question “How can we best use available resources to feed a growing world population?” The US pavilion, with the theme “Food Truck Nation,” will highlight products, ingenuity and entrepreneurship, with the context of sustainable health and nutrition; street foods in the US will be featured.

The expo will include canals, ponds, botanical gardens, a gondola that soars over the 10,000-acre site, entertainment and children’s educational areas.

Some 20 million visitors from countries worldwide are expected to visit, with the biggest crowds in May, July and August.

My wife and I are planning a 3-day visit to Milan in June, when the crowding should be less, with three days at the fair and a day or two for museum hopping and shopping in the city. (We don’t plan to attend Expo ’17 in Kazakhstan, but a trip to Dubai for Expo ’20 is a strong possibility.)

For full information on Expo ’15, including access to the official app, visit www.expo2015.org/en.