French know how to do Journalism

I see them. The big headlines, the well-investigated journalism politically correct and all, the tv anchor voice announcing with an ultrabright smile signed P&G

“With 70 millions visitors  expected to attend Shanghai Expo, some 200 participants are getting ready for the Pearl of Orient (wow, figure of speech)  counting from May 1st” …

Numbers are of great help when people have little idea what they’re talking about. Figures are thrown at the face of the public as a non-arguable authority and we forget to think : what is the big picture behind all this?

Recently when I came to think about World Expo significance, I had the vague feeling it was a traditional worldwide tourism event, only this time the little vacation will have a business flavor as it takes place in Shanghai. So I looked back..

Back in mid 19th century, Universal Exposition was about promoting industry development, trade and technology. After the 2nd world war, things went different for obvious reasons and World’s Fair shifted to encourage inter-cultural exchanges - until the 90’s. For the last 2 decades, World Expo has been about branding nations, influencing the perception on countries and nations.

How World Expo is supposed to be relevant  in our lives and how does it reflects our global world trends? Spending millions for building and entertaining  a pretty pavilion in our tough times – US only recently confirmed their participation, asks for some more relevance than some kind of big-scale badvertising event.

How will nations connect to the Chinese audience, and how will China brand itself towards the other nations ? This kind of branding reflects the diplomatic positioning of each nations for now and the next couple years. China will probably impress again, like it has during the Olympics, with its flawless organization and its ability to drive masses to events. Like courtesans, international participants will try to seduce Chinese visitors, some in more effective ways than others.

We’ll be surrounded by numbers, for sure. But I suggest we pay attention to details, people and actions, to what will be said and what will not. Those pretty pavilions are not only about design and architecture rivalry. Are they?

World Expo Official site