Expo 2010 UK and US Pavilions

Expo 2010 begins in less than three years. With an expected 200 countries and 70 million visitors, it's not surprising that plans are well underway to develop impressive pavilions.

A fascinating example of what we have to look forward to comes in the form of the United Kingom Pavilion's plans which has already begun with a design competition. The six final designs (shown above) were announced in July.

The United States Department of State has yet to select the firm that will create its pavilion, but the expected price tag is $100 million. Under U.S. law, federal funds can't be used to for the pavilion's construction or staffing, so there is likely to be a race to collect the funds in time for planning and construction. Otherwise, the United States could suffer a repeat of its Expo 2000 experience, canceling participation at the last moment due to lack of funds.

Larger versions of the above illustrations are available here.

25th Anniversary of the 1982 World's Fair, Part 2

Traveling to Knoxville last month for the Fair Day festivities on the
Fourth of July, I took a ton of photos of the event, exhibits, and
from the observation deck of the Sunsphere:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/expomuseum/sets/72157600773432052/

The 1982 World's Fair was my first world's fair. I was 15 years old and when we went, we didn't have time to go up in the Sunsphere itself. 25 years later, I finally got to go up!