98 years young: Meet Expo 2020 Dubai’s oldest visitor

’If someone misses the opportunity to visit the Expo, they will definitely regret it’

It’s never too late to learn something new and Maltiben Dhirubhai Naik has been doing just that by visiting Expo 2020 Dubai.

The most senior person to have entered the Expo, Naik says in a video that she is 97 or 98. “Honestly, I can’t remember these days.”

According to the video posted on Expo 2020 Dubai’s Instagram page, it’s Naik’s birthday today and she turns 98. The nonagenarian says in the video that she hails from Surat, Gujarat, India.

“This is my second visit to the Expo and I have got to see and experience a lot and it has been such an immense pleasure,” she says.

When asked which pavilion is the best, she says she does not have an answer to that as “they all have something different to show”.

“I have seen things here that I will remember for the rest of my life. If someone misses the opportunity to visit the Expo, they will definitely regret it.”

According to Naik, Expo 2020 Dubai is where people can “learn and experience different things”.

Today, March 31, is the last day of Expo 2020 Dubai. Air shows, fireworks and a star-studded closing ceremony will take celebrations to the next level through the night, before the iconic Expo portals are closed for the last time at 3am on April 1.

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At last count, the region’s first World Expo had clocked nearly 23 million visits — making it the largest global gathering since Covid-19 hit.

A youth-focused closing ceremony will see global music icons Christina Aguilera, Norah Jones and Yo-Yo Ma perform beneath Al Wasl’s iconic dome.

sahim@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai