Culture and Events Programme : Germany

The list of cultural projects is long and ranges from an international choral encounter, a youth orchestra competition and a joint performance by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Scorpions to participation in the founding of an orchestra for 20th-century music; from Peter Stein’s production of Goethe’s “Faust” and the annual Hanover Dance Festival (which will be broadened in scope by the year 2000) to an international theater festival which will take place under the name “Theater-forms". This largest German festival, which will feature performances spanning the theatrical spectrum from classical drama to the avant-garde, will involve the stages of the cities of Hanover and Brunswick as well as the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture.

In the runup to EXPO 2000, a special sailing regatta will publicize the World Exposition all over the world. Starting in the fall of 1998, about 100 yachts will set sail from Lisbon in different directions to circumvent the globe. In the course of this “Millennium Odyssey", a flame lit in Jerusalem will be passed on to communities in 40 destination ports on all six continents as a symbol of peace and friendship.

Each year until 1999, the world’s top eight tennis professionals will compete in Hanover for the world championship. EXPO 2000 will thus present itself to a global audience numbering in the millions. Other major events to date have been the German Open Triathlon (June 1997) and the Women’s Handball World Championships (December 1997).

Leipzig at the crossroads : Germany

This project addresses the problems and opportunities posed by the collapse of a social system. It will attempt to show ways in which people can come to terms with such profound change and will thus be particularly interesting for both those who have been caught up in the transformations following the fall of the Wall and for many others whose general circumstances have likewise changed as a result of the transformations in neighboring countries.The “Imaginata” in Jena is a landscape for the senses: for perceiving and marveling, for experimenting and playing, for pondering, discovering and inventing. It kindles excitement for technical and scientific discovery, for natural phenomena, for human development and for the arts.

>The region Dessau-Bitterfeld-Wittenberg in the state of Saxony-Anhalt will play a very special role. This industrial region in central Germany will serve to show the global public how a region that suffered for decades from an unconscionable exploitation of nature is now finding its way back to a state of ecological equilibrium and how it is handling the monumental economic, social and cultural changes brought on by the reunification of Germany.

>One international project which especially deserves support is the “rewindable radio” invented by Trevor Baylis o England. A simple mechanism allows the radio to be operated without electricity or batteries- A spring wound by a crank drives a dynamo that supplies an accumulator with the necessary electric current. The radio can be used anywhere in the world where electricity or batteries are either unavailable or too expensive for people to afford.

Projects All Over the World : Germany

For the first time in the history of World Expositions, EXPO 2000 will link the central venue of the World Exposition in Hanover with projects in the Hanover region, in Germany and all over the world. It will thus showcase practical initiatives which are being undertaken in all parts of the world to master the global challenges facing humankind and which can point out the way to a new relationship between humankind, nature and technology. The limelight will be on innovative projects and integrated solutions which take into account ecological and economic imperatives as well as the cultural and social interests of the respective society. The projects should continue to benefit the regions in which they are located beyond the duration of EXPO 2000 itself: They should be innovative, solution-oriented and transferable to other parts of the world.

Some 76 projects in Lower Saxony will be grouped together under the rubric “City and Region as an Exhibit". In April 1997 Birgit Breuel introduced the first international projects in Erfurt; 178 from Germany’s federal states (except Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt) were selected by the jury. A second selection procedure is to take place by the spring of 1998. A large number of project proposals is likewise expected at the international level. There the selection will be made by members of the International Advisory Board.

In 1999 all of the projects that have been submitted will be assessed to determine whether they have lived up to the goals they set themselves at the time of their registration. If so, they will receive the official title “EXPO 2000 International Project". The best projects will be awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. As Birgit Breuel put it, “In keeping with the Olympic spirit, we are staging an international competition of ideas.”

The Thematic Area : Germany

The Thematic Area is a novelty in the history of World Expositions. With this core element of the exposition, EXPO 2000 Hannover GmbH is providing a platform for international institutions, scientific centers, firms and private individuals to present their ideas and blueprints for a future in which human- kind can live in harmony with nature. In the Thematic Area, the EXPO keynote theme “Humankind - Nature - Technology” will be illustrated in an accessible and memorable manner.

Contributions to the Thematic Area have such themes as environmental protection, human health and nutrition, future sources of energy, communications and mobility. The suggestions presented in the context of these contributions should clearly be oriented toward the goal of sustainable development. The Thematic Area affords business and industry an extraordinary opportunity to show how the problems of today and tomorrow can be resolved with the aid of new techniques and technologies.

The Pavilions : Germany

The host’s pavilion at World Expositions traditionally attracts considerable visitor attention. The Federal Republic will make its own contribution to EXPO 2000 an open house for business, industry and culture. Germany’s industrial sector, small and medium-sized businesses and craft trades can utilize this opportunity to showcase the Federal Republic’s future-oriented approach and technical competence. During the five months of EXPO 2000, up to 60,000 people will visit the German pavilion each day.

The German pavilion is intended to be a two-story structure with a display area of about 16,000 square meters. It is to be built on EU Boulevard between the main entrance and the pavilions of the European states and will thus link these with the pavilions of the other nations on the EXPO site, pointing up the underlying theme “Reaching Out to Our Neighbors".

Organization and Financing : Germany

As from 1 June 1998 it will be possible to reach EXPO from anywhere in the world under the telephone number 2000. The starting date for advance ticket sales has already been set: As from 1 June 1998, admission tickets may be ordered from all agencies and travel agents connected to the START and AMADEUS reservation systems. Until then EXPO will be working with prominent organizations in Germany to publicize the tourism concept for the World Exposition all over the globe. Among these are the German Central Tourist Board, the German Tourist Industry Association, the German Travel Agents’ Association and the German Congress Bureau as well as firms such as Lufthansa German Airlines, Deutsche Bahn AG and German Touring. The EXPO site can accommodate about 300,000 visitors daily. The number of tickets is therefore limited.

Planning and Administration : Germany

The host of EXPO 2000 is the Federal Republic of Germany: It invites the nations and international organizations to Hanover. According to the regulations of the Bureau International des Expositions, which awards the World Expositions on the basis of international conventions, the Federal Government is obligated to appoint a Commissioner General. The Commissioner General represents the Federal Government in all matters pertaining to EXPO 2000.

On 15 September 1994 the Federal Government appointed Birgit Breuel Commissioner General. During her tenure as Minister of Finance of the State of Lower Saxony, Birgit Breuel and a number of other individuals had conceived and developed the idea of staging EXPO 2000 in Hanover and had succeeded in bringing the World Exposition to the Federal Republic in 1990. After the reunification of Germany, the Hamburg native was appointed President of the Berlin Treuhand-anstalt (Trust Agency) and from 1991 to 1994 played a crucial role in eastern Germany’s difficult transition to a liberal market economy. In April 1995 Birgit Breuel returned to the World Exposition.