Liverpool’s £600k World Expo pavilion revealed

THE organisers of Liverpool’s presence at the World Expo 2010 have unveiled the pavilion that will showcase the city during the six-month event in Shanghai.

The £600,000 pavilion is 25 metres long by 18.5 metres wide – about the size of a five-a-side football pitch – and was created by a consortium of Liverpool design agency Uniform, exhibition specialists SYMA and architects BDP.

The contract to for the pavilion’s creative and multimedia content is currently out to tender at an additional cost.

Liverpool’s pavilion will address a number of themes during the Expo including urban regeneration, advanced technology and science, culture, health and sport and professional services.

Within the pavilion visitors will enter an auditorium through the door of a cruise liner for a virtual cruise from Shanghai to Liverpool and the North West. This 10 minute 3D film will highlight the region’s culture, business know-how, and natural and built environments. When the film is finished, visitors will exit the auditorium and pass into the exhibition and event area.

In the exhibition area of the pavilion, a sport pod will allow visitors to take virtual penalties against a Merseyside goalkeeper and negotiations are taking place with both Liverpool and Everton Football Clubs to finalise their involvement in the project.

Meanwhile, visitors to the music pod will be able to play the new Beatles Rock Band video game, while the Gateway pod will take visitors on a virtual journey across the entire North West region.

Warren Bradley, leader of Liverpool Council, said: “The designs and concepts behind the Pavilion are a true reflection of the city, drawing on its maritime, musical and sporting heritage, as well as its wider cultural offer.

“The Pavilion also reflects and illustrates the amazing regeneration which has taken place here in Liverpool, where we have married old and new whilst winning official World Heritage Site status at the same time.”

Mike Taylor, Liverpool Vision’s director of investment and enterprise, said: “Having the design in place will help our partners and potential sponsors envisage how we will position the city during the Expo and we hope these images will encourage more sponsors to take part.”

Liverpool and London are the only UK cities to have a dedicated pavilion at the World Expo, which  runs from May 1 to October 31 and is expected to attract around 70 million visitors. It is regarded as a major opportunity to forge new relationships in emerging markets and is expected to be worth £50m to Liverpool and the North West over the next decade.

The total cost of Liverpool’s presence at the expo is expected to be around £3m, with the NWDA contributing £1.25m and the city council around £300,000. The rest will be raised through sponsorship, with Peel Group already confirmed as the £100,000 headline sponsor.