Australian participation at Shanghai World Expo 2010 is in full swing, most recently with Trade Minister Simon Crean announcing the Australian Pavilion’s mascot and launching a bilingual website.

At a ceremony in Shanghai, Minister Crean unveiled the mascot – a laughing kookaburra – and announced the new official website for the Australian pavilion.
"Clever and confident, resourceful, and with a sense of humour, the kookaburra reflects well the Australian personality," said Mr Crean.
Australia is leading the way for international participation in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, becoming the first international participant to complete foundation works for its pavilion in February this year.
Australia has invested A$83 million through federal, state and private sponsorship for participation at next year’s expo – the largest Australian investment ever made towards a world expo.
"This reflects not only the importance of the Australia-China relationship, but also the Government's intention to take full advantage of this opportunity to promote increased trade and two-way investment, project contemporary images of modern Australia to millions of people and to strengthen institutional and people-to-people links between our two countries," said Mr Crean.

The Australian government has provided core funding of A$61 million towards Australia’s participation at World Expo 2010.
ANZ Banking Group, BlueScope Steel and Rio Tinto have announced their participation at World Expo as Platinum Sponsors of the Australian pavilion.
"This Expo is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Australia to the world and to expand commercial links in China,” said Mr Crean. "China is the place to be and Australian companies need to get a bigger slice of the action," he said.
Mr Crean also launched the Australian pavilion's bilingual website (www.australianpavilion.com) and a naming competition for the mascot’s Chinese name – currently affectionately known as ‘Kooka’ – which will run in China until mid-June. The prize is a trip for three to Australia with $2000 spending money.
The Shanghai expo will take place from May 1, 2010 to October 31, 2010 and is expected to attract 70 million visitors during the six-month expo period. Up to seven million people are expected to visit the Australian pavilion alone – the vast majority of them Chinese. More than 180 countries have confirmed their participation.

Australian companies which have already secured deals with World Expo 2010 include:

• ASPECT Studios – which has won eco-park design contracts to contribute to the sustainable design of the Nanyuan Waterfront Park – an extension of the Shanghai 2010 World Expo site.
• BlueScope Steel which has won deals to supply premium steel for expo constructions, including a $6.25 million deal to supply 1,260 metric tonnes of roofing materials for the China Pavilion.
• Sydney's Dynalite which will supply intelligent lighting systems for the Shanghai Theme Pavilion in a deal worth $2.35 million.
• TAFE NSW DET International, which will provide training services to the Australian Pavilion, has also signed a deal with the Shanghai 2010 Expo Bureau to develop its training master plan and action plans for the expo volunteer program.
• Brisbane's Urban Art Projects has been selected from over 100 international tenders to design major artworks for the eight main entrance areas of Expo 2010.

Businesses which have won public tenders relating to the construction and operation of the Australian Pavilion include:

• International Venue Group (IVG), an Australian company based in Melbourne, which will provide staffing, retail and operations services worth up to $12 million for the Australian pavilion.
• Bovis Lend Lease, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lend Lease Group, which is providing construction, exhibition and technical operations services worth $49.15 million for the Australian pavilion.
• Parker & Partners, an Ogilvy PR Worldwide Company based in Sydney and Canberra, which has won a $2 million contract to provide communications and public affairs services for the Australian pavilion.
• think!OTS, a Melbourne-based Australian creative exhibition design firm won a tender in 2007 to oversee exhibition design for the Australian pavilion and has employed the services of Wood Marsh Architects for the pavilion design. think!OTS has previous expo experience having designed the award-winning Australian pavilion at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan.
• George P Johnson, a family owned global company, will provide a cultural program worth $3 million for the Australian pavilion. The company has more than 20 years experience managing high-level arts and entertainment events, particularly in Asia, and has worked extensively in China with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Recruitment opportunities:

Registration for individuals seeking recruitment opportunities at the Australian pavilion for Shanghai World Expo 2010 has begun. For more information click here.

Procurement opportunities:

International Venue Group is now accepting registration for the procurement of a variety of products - from retail to food and beverage, operational and furniture equipment and VIP functions - for the Australian Pavilion during the six-month expo period. For more information click here.