Expo Dubai: Glisenti, ‘for Italy it is the engine of relaunch, soon agreements for our companies’

The push of the Expo to restart Italy. Paolo Glisenti, Commissioner General for Italy’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, bets on the Universal Exposition, which opened in the Gulf on October 1st, as an “engine of economic revival”, announcing that “in the coming weeks” within of the Italian Pavilion, “new important agreements between Italian and Emirati companies, but also from other countries” will be signed. In an interview with Adnkronos on the eve of the national day of Italian sport, which is celebrated in the Italian Pavilion on November 23, and the Italy National Day, which sees our country once again the protagonist the next day, Glisenti recalls the meetings “very significant” which in recent weeks have seen Italian companies and business associations as protagonists, but also those among the Italian ministers with their Emirati counterparts. “Furthermore, all our companies that participated in the construction of the pavilion are meeting their counterparts here”, the demonstration – according to the General Commissioner – that the ‘Italian showcase’ is generating “a very important legacy of agreements and possible collaboration formulas “, also favored by the fact that” 35% of international trade passes through this part of the world that gravitates to Expo, plus all corporate finance and sovereign wealth funds “. Glisenti therefore highlights how November 23 and 24” will be two days that will dress the entire Expo of the Italian flag “. Italian sport will be celebrated in the pavilion on Tuesday with the presence of the undersecretary for sport, Valentina Vezzali, and the president of Coni, Giovanni Malagò. In addition there will be numerous Tokyo medalists who will meet the visitors and in the afternoon they will carry out live sporting activities. “It will be a day of celebration and celebration, plus here we will launch Milan-Cortina 2026 and the centenary of Aci”, two “important and visible” moments, defines them Glisenti, and which will be the prelude to the day dedicated to Italy. “There is the announced presence of Minister Di Maio, there will be protocol moments of meetings with the UAE counterparts and an important session on the attractiveness of Italy for foreign investments”, he continues. Finally, in the afternoon, a concert by the Accademia della Scala will be held that will see the hymn of Mameli resound in front of the Italian pavilion: “it will be an important day diplomatically – we are one of the most watched and esteemed countries among all those participating – but also of great party and music “, summarizes Glisenti. The Commissioner then comments on the imminent goal of 500 thousand visitors that will be reached soon and which confirms the Italian Pavilion among the most visited of the entire Expo, also highlighting the 4 million users reached on social media from all over the world and who “participate very actively”. “In an event like this, partly visited in person and partly attended remotely, this is a very important number, almost more important than the 500 thousand in person” and which makes us “the first country among all the participants for contacts and followers. on world social media “. Relevant numbers that have been reached – according to Glisenti – thanks to three elements: international word of mouth, the animation of the pavilion and the presence of Michelangelo’s David digitally reproduced, a symbol that has become” a bit iconic “and which has aroused great interest from the international media.” Thanks to social media, but also thanks to TV and newspaper services such as Bbc, Nyt and Cnn, word of mouth has been set in motion that induces visitors to choose to visit us – he observes the Commissioner – This system is giving very important results given the vastness of the Expo site, which with its 530 hectares is double that of Milan “. “The second element – he adds – is that we are a pavilion continuously animated by scientific, cultural, economic but also artistic events – over 400 in six months – Every day we have shows of the highest level of Italian music, theater and opera, so we have become a point of attraction “.” The third element that is generating an important flow of visitors is Michelangelo’s David, whose history is at the center of the interest of the international debate and which, in turn, has set in motion a request , which we passed to the University of Florence, to launch the first higher education school here in our pavilion for the reproduction of archaeological assets damaged in war areas “. Furthermore, highlights Glisenti, the Italian one is the only pavilion that can be seen from all points of the Expo site thanks to the three large tricolor hulls of 60 meters, “the largest tricolor ever made in the history of Italy, an element of great visual attraction “. Finally, on the candidacy of Rome to host the Universal Exposition of 2030, the Commissioner believes that to achieve this new objective “it is very simply necessary to do the best Expo Dubai. It is an important premise to give strength to the candidacy of Rome because what is will see here, done by Italy, will establish a level of quality, professionalism and governance that will surely give credit and strength to the candidacy “.” Even more than we would have done otherwise, now with the Rome 2030 candidacy we must do very well here – he concludes – other countries are thinking in the same way and are also moving to the Dubai Expo to start proposing themselves: the informal candidacy campaign has already started here “.