Qatar pavilion wins award in S Korea

Qatar’s pavilion at Expo Yeosu 2012 in South Korea has won the Bronze Prize on “matching the pavilion and exhibition themes”. Qatar’s ambassador to South Korea Ali Hamad al-Marri expressed his happiness with the prize, noting that it was the fruit of three months’ efforts. The Qatar pavilion presented a range of cultural, artistic, social and economic activities that informed about the state and its role in conservation. Pavilion manager Mona al-Sulaiti received the prize in the ceremony organised by the International Bureau of Exhibitions. She dedicated the win to HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and to HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. Al-Sulaiti noted that 7mn people had visited the expo which ended on Saturday. Visitors to Qatar’s pavilion  exceeded 1mn. Qatar on Sunday participated in the activities of the forum of Expo Yeosu conclusion summit, which was addressed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and International Exhibitions Bureau secretary general Vicente Gonzalez. Qatar began participation in the Expo events in 2005 in Nagwaa, Japan. Its second participation was in Zaragoza, Spain, in 2008, and the third in Shanghai, China, in 2010. The Qatar pavilions have won several awards during the years. Five cities are competing to host Expo 2020, Dubai (UAE), Ayutthaya (Thailand), Ekaterinburg (Russia), Izmir (Turkey) and Sao Paulo (Brazil). The 2015 Expo will be held in Milan, Italy. From GT