THE FINAL #THANKSMATE FOR A REWARDING EXPO 2020 DUBAI JOURNEY

The Australian Pavilion celebrated its rewarding journey and said a final #ThanksMate to the countless people, partners, and organisations that played a vital role in its success.

As the curtains were drawn on Expo 2020 Dubai, it was evident that the Australian Pavilion was a crowd favourite, including being rated as the most Instagrammable pavilion at Expo.  

More than 1.6 million people visited the pavilion in person, with millions more experiencing it through the ‘Expo 360’ virtual website platform, of which Australia was the most virtually visited of the 192 participating nations. The pavilion welcomed more than 7000 guests, to 160 events, and hosted over 450 protocol visits including members of the royal family, heads of state and ministers. In addition, hundreds of global journalists, broadcast hosts and media representatives covered the pavilion and its activities.

Justin McGowan, Commissioner General of Australia at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “It was a pleasure to see Australian businesses win goods and services contracts worth more than USD200 million during Expo, and to welcome multitudes of tourists, businesspeople, VIPs, and UAE residents. They had a glimpse of Australian life, learnt about our Indigenous culture, and discovered our richly diverse and meaningful 65,000 year history. They are aware of our welcoming and innovative spirit, and of our collaborative nature.  We anticipate that many of them will visit our beautiful country for tourism, business, or further studies.”

A foodie’s delight, the Australian Pavilion’s forecourt eateries served a whopping 20,000 Australian ‘bush tucker’ skewers, 13,500 servings of fish and chips, 13,000 toasties and 28,000 potato scallops, steak fries and sweet potato fries during the six months. 

They poured over 69,000 Aussie-brewed beers and more than 12,000 Aussie wines, with Melbourne Lane Coffee serving 65,000 cups of coffee and 18,000 lamingtons. The commercial kitchen was graced with visits from guest celebrity chefs such as Aaron Brooks and Mindy Woods.

More than 3,000 performers, musicians and speakers appeared on the pavilion’s forecourt stage to share their talent and knowledge. The Australian National Day on 29th January 2022 was celebrated with energetic performances by Baker Boy and Mitch Tambo, alongside activations with Australian Football League (AFL) superstar Bachar Houli. This was one  among hundreds of sporting events held at Aussie Park which attracted more than 25,000 participants, including Aussie Backyard Cricket and ‘Pavilion to Pavilion’ sporting leagues, that drove Australian sports diplomacy.

Justin McGowan concludes: “We could not have achieved what we did at Expo without the support and commitment from our partners, state governments, and from the contributions of Australian artists, performers, chefs, sportspeople, and thought-leaders. I would also like to thank the UAE authorities for making our journey memorable.”