Andrea Bocelli certainly finished things on a high note. That was quite the opening ceremony in Dubai, hopefully setting the tone for Expo over the course of the next six months.
Join us tomorrow, when we’ll get a first look at the pavilions and attractions on the Expo site.
Legendary Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, takes to the stage singing “The prayer.”
The 63-year-old, who went completely blind at the age of 12, is famous for blending opera and pop. He has collaborated with stars from Celine Dion to Jennifer Lopez and Ed Sheeran, and sold upwards of 90 million albums.
This performance whets the appetite for his world tour, which begins in the US on October 13, before returning to Dubai in early November for a show at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
US singer and actor Andra Day won a Golden Globe for her leading role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” Today, she’s singing her Grammy-winning song “Rise Up,” which she also performed at the White House during Barack Obama’s presidency, and during the inauguration parade for President Joe Biden.
A decade ago, British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding’s debut album “Lights” was a UK number one, and its title track went five-times platinum in the US.
She’s not unfamiliar with singing at big events either – Goulding has performed at countless festivals, and even the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding reception.
Today, she’s singing her 2012 hit “Anything could happen”, surrounded by floating cloud structures.
The stars descend and the dome has become the ocean floor, with people dressed as coral or kelp swaying around the stage. There’s a light show of sharks, dolphins, rays and other sea creatures.
Sustainability is a key theme of Expo 2020. Earlier this year, we got a preview of the Sustainability Pavilion, considered a “centerpiece of the event.”
Watch the video for an early glimpse of the pavilion.
The Chinese musician is one of the world’s best known concert pianists. Last weekend he performed on stage with Coldplay, and he also performed at the 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing.
Suddenly the roof of the Al Wasl dome is filled with stars, and performers dance carrying crystal globes, and skaters zoom across the stage.
It’s a pretty amazing spectacle, as the stars transform into glowing globes and a fiery planet emerges in the center, more than 11 meters (36 feet) in diameter, and composed of 35 rings with LED strips around each ring.
The colors change, accompanied by dramatic music, and the red globe becomes a blue planet, Earth.
Another key theme of Expo 2020 is mobility – and with Dubai’s robust car culture, including some real gas guzzlers, the city seems an appropriate setting to examine the future of movement.
Dubai itself has already unveiled plans for an electric sky pod network to help get people off the roads, with a national rail network also in the works.
The move away from fuel and diesel vehicles is happening elsewhere around the world, with Europe recently announcing its intention to eliminate vehicle emissions by 2035. In the US – where a third of greenhouse gas emissions come from transport – the target is 50% electric in the next decade.
Expos have a long history of transportation innovations, and with the urgency of the climate crisis, the need for green transport solutions is greater than ever.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has officially opened Expo 2020.
Spotlight is on His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mubarak Al Nahayan, Dubai Commissioner General for Expo 2020.
He looks back at the 1970 Expo in Osaka, Japan, where Emiratis first made an appearance at a World Expo.
Next up is Dimitri Kerkentzes, Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions, the organization in charge of overseeing World Expos.
Performing the official Expo song “This is our time”, Hussain Al Jassmi, Mayssa Karaa, and Almas take to the stage, supported by a youth choir from across the world.
With lyrics such as “this is the moment we have to decide, it’s time to stand up and vow to be what the world needs now,” the song speaks to the Expo’s wider themes of opportunity, sustainability and mobility.
Some of the eye-catching projections inside the Al Wasl dome.
Performing John Legend’s “If You’re Out There” is Angélique Kidjo and Mohamed Abdo.
Born in Benin, West Africa, Kidjo is a multiple Grammy award-winner. She’s also a long-time UNICEF goodwill ambassador and an activist. In 2018 she wrote for CNN on the power of female solidarity.
Saudi singer Mohamed Abdo is a superstar in the Arab World.
The ceremony features elements of Emirati culture. Here, a spotlight shines on sand dunes, which look wonderfully realistic despite being created using 84 meters of fabric. A man’s voice echoes through the Al Wasl dome, as he meets a young girl at the bottom of the dune, wearing a dress that took 260 hours of needlework to make.
Then the dune is whisked away to reveal a golden ring.
The scene playing out harks back to the UAE’s beloved tale of an ancient golden ring discovered at the Saruq Al Hadid archaeological site, and is supposed to represent the “golden ring of connectivity.”
The ceremony has kicked off with Emirati singer and actor Rashed Al Nuaimi performing the Emirati anthem, while the national flag is raised, accompanied by matching fireworks outside.
We’ll be covering Expo 2020 over the course of the event – including this special interview airing tomorrow on Connect the World with Becky Anderson, who spoke to Expo Dubai’s director general ahead of the opening ceremony.
Dignitaries and guests are making their way to Al Wasl Plaza, purpose-built for the event. The Al Wasl dome is quite a sight – more than 67 meters tall (220 feet) tall, it apparently has world’s biggest 360-degree projection surface, which will feature a display from more than 250 projectors.
Sustainability is one of the central themes of Dubai’s Expo, and after a summer when the effects of climate change have been evident around the world, it couldn’t be more timely.
We’ve seen global floods, droughts, wildfires and heatwaves. A stark report from UN climate scientists warned that “global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible.”
As nations use Expo to showcase technological innovations, many will be hoping that will include some meaningful ways to tackle the climate crisis.
CNN’s Scott McLean is at the opening ceremony and describes what it’s like there ahead of the festivities. The heat continues to be a big topic on this first night!
