Foreign ministry unveils Belgian pavilion for Milan Expo

Federal foreign trade minister Kris Peeters is presenting the design and look of the Belgian pavilion at the forthcoming Expo Milan 2015 this morning, precisely 100 days before the exhibition is due to begin.

Peeters is accompanied by fellow Christian democrat Leo Delcroix, who has been put in charge of Belgium’s pavilion for the second time. Delcroix also held the post in 2012 for the Shanghai Expo, where Belgium closed the event with a profit for the first time since Brussels hosted the World Fair in 1958.

Delcroix, however, came under scrutiny by Belgium’s Court of Audit for the financial organisation of the Shanghai pavilion, which it said included a lack of transparency in the books and several oral agreements made with sponsors that were never formalised via contracts. Delcroix said at the time that several of the accusations were “simply unrealistic”.

The Belgian pavilion in Milan, Italy second most populous city after Rome, was designed by Patrick Genard, a Belgian architect based in Barcelona, while the scenography is the work of Marc Belderbos, who lectures in the architecture department of the University of Leuven. The pavilion aims “to combine a Belgian identity with the exhibition’s themes of sustainability and technological innovation,” said Peeters’ office.

The expo is being held from 1 May to 31 October under the slogan “Feeding the planet, energy for life”. It will look at the links between technology, innovation, creativity, food and nutrition. Some 145 countries are due to take part in the Expo, which is expected to attract 20 million visitors and create 70,000 temporary jobs.

photo: Belgium’s pavilion at the Shanghai 2010 Expo

©Tom Staelens