Italy Hosts a World’s Fair

A spectacular world’s fair will begin a six-month run in Milan, Italy on May 1. Known as Expo Milano 2015, it will feature exhibits from more than 140 countries. Organizers expect the event to attract 20 million visitors. 

The fair, whose theme is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” will focus on ways to adequately feed the world’s growing population, as well as explorations of our relationship to food through history and culture.

Located in a transport hub northwest of the city, about half an hour’s drive from central Piazza Duomo, the expo’s purpose-built site (fish-shaped when viewed from above) will cover nearly 12 million square feet. Open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week, it will feature canals, botanical gardens and thematic areas, including one designed in collaboration with MIT that will address the future of the food chain. 

The main draw will be the often architecturally stunning pavilions, each expressing its country’s or corporation’s take on the event’s theme. These will include a giant beehive from the UK that is intended to highlight the plight of the honeybee. Robot zero-emission tractors will score patterns into the crop-covered roof of a Dutch pavilion, while the Belarus offering will feature a suspended wooden water wheel built into a hill. 

As evening falls, the Expo by Night program will kick into action, with concerts and performances at on-site venues—including the 11,000-capacity Open Air Theatre and the Lake Arena—as well as dining and tasting opportunities. A highlight will be a nightly Cirque de Soleil production, Allavita!, designed specifically for the expo. 

The best local airports for private aircraft are Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate. The former is the intercontinental hub for flights into the city, as well as the north of the country as a whole. The expo site is equidistant by car from both airports. 

For more information on Expo Milano 2015, visit wonderfulexpo2015.info/en/home.
For more event info, see Traveler Calendar.