Visitors at the Kuwait Pavilion experience the nation’s centuries-long struggle with the harsh and hot desert environment, on its way to finding sustainable and lasting solutions for the population.
The Kuwait Pavilion is gleaming, after achieving an impressive milestone, in welcoming the one-millionth visitor to the pavilion, after only 2.5 months since the inauguration of the world Expo 2020 event in Dubai on October 1st, 2021. At the Pavilion, visitors get to experience the history of a nation as it struggles with the harsh desert environment, while at the same time grappling with and finding sustainable solutions for the masses. It is a symbolic journey, a struggle if you like, through the naturally hot and arid desert climate of the northwestern area of the Arabian Gulf, and finding sustainable emblematic solutions along the way, showcased by the pavilion’s bold and sometimes dramatic architecture.
Kuwait’s participation at Expo 2020 is under the thematic title ‘New Kuwait: New opportunities for sustainability’. The most important message for the pavilion is ‘water’ as a resource and ensuring its future sustainability. This is emphasized by the huge water tower that begins at the center of the pavilion and stretches upward all the way to the roof, mimicking the real water towers, which are in fact emergency water reservoirs, found in many Kuwaiti cities. Water is the ‘source of life’ and without water, there would be no life, hence the sustainability of the water resource is the strongest message being delivered at the Kuwait pavilion.
The exterior façade of the pavilion mimics the desert sand dunes both in color and shape. The triangular features of the façade also mimic the sails found on the old traditional dhows that were used to generate income before oil was discovered. Kuwaitis harvested the precious pearls from the sea, and embarked on long dangerous journeys to trade goods with the Far East. The Kuwait pavilion takes visitors on a journey through the country’s past and present achievements, with previews and glimpses into the nation’s future vision.
Dr. Bader Al-Enezi, the Director of the Kuwait Pavilion, said: “We are proud that visitors at Expo 2020 are attracted to the Kuwait pavilion and are visiting us in such large numbers. This is a clear indication that the people behind all this work, the different committees and teams that have created the pavilion, have done an incredible job that we can all be proud of. This is also a clear indication of how successful our brothers and sisters in the UAE, the Expo organizers have been, in preparing the infrastructure for this important world event. An event such as this underscores the importance of bringing people together and exchanging ideas so we can work towards building a better future together. We are looking forward towards receiving more such traffic at the Kuwait Pavilion, especially as the holiday season approaches.”
“This is the largest participation by Kuwait in an event of this kind and we are doing everything in our power to contribute to the success of the world Expo in Dubai. Given the huge turnout, I think we have done an excellent job so far and it gives us great confidence moving forward, as our country continues working towards Kuwait’s 2035 vision, which aims at transforming Kuwait into a regional and international financial trade hub, and becoming more attractive to foreign investors” he added.
