Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl has invited 185 nations and nine international organizations to participate in EXPO 2000 in Hanover. The participants will present themselves in pavilions of their own and in the exhibition halls on the EXPO site. A total of 20 million guests from all over the world are expected to attend.

“At EXPO 2000 we can show our real nature - cosmopolitan, with real humanity, with a talent for international solidarity as one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We will present ourselves as a land which is aware of its responsibility for creation. We will present ourselves as a land of culture, of inventors, as a land of people who can get things off the ground. I hope that EXPO will also show that the Germans can be cheerful people. EXPO can provide a picture of Germany, a respected calling card for entering the new millennium.” (Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl)

EXPO 2000 in Hanover will take place on a vast site covering 170 hectares. Unlike other World Expositions, it will utilize existing exhibition areas and fair installations. Very little additional space will be required, which means that natural sources of life will be preserved and resources will be conserved. With an area of 100 hectares, the grounds of the Hanover industrial fair complex comprise more than half of the EXPO site. Some of the original exhibition halls will be refurbished for the World Exposition or replaced by new buildings. During the years prior to EXPO 2000, these halls will be gradually integrated into normal fair operations, and at the conclusion of the World Exposition they will again be made available in their entirety for fair use. To supplement these facilities, an approximately 70-hectare tract southeast of the fairgrounds (the Kronsberg) is also being developed for EXPO 2000.