Expo 2020: Experience Arabian magic at the Saudi Pavilion

Dubai - The second-largest pavilion holds three Guinness world records.

By Team KT

Published: Mon 9 Aug 2021, 9:33 AM

Last updated: Mon 9 Aug 2021, 10:42 AM

With the longest interactive water feature, the largest LED mirror screen, and the largest interactive lighting floor, the Saudi pavilion at Expo 2020 holds three Guinness records, the organisers have revealed.

The state-of-the-art pavilion – the second largest after the UAE’s – will take visitors through the Arabian Kingdom’s rich past, vibrant present, and promising future.

Around 8,000 LED lights on the largest interactive lighting floor will dazzle the visitors, while a 32-metre-long interactive water feature and a 1302.5 square meter LED interactive digital mirror will add to the unique visual experience.

A 68 square-meter, curved LED screen greets visitors as they embark on a technology-enabled journey through five ecosystems, hinting at the Kingdom’s natural spaces, beautiful coasts, vast deserts, surrounding seas, and high mountains. The journey will walk visitors through the flora of Al Bardani Valley in Asir Region to the mighty mountains of Tabuk, and from the dunes of the Empty Quarter in southeastern Saudi to the crystal-clear waters of the Red Sea.

Visitors to the Saudi Pavilion will then experience 14 cultural landmarks along a stunning escalator ride. These include acclaimed UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as At-Turaif District in Ad-Diriyah, Hegra Archaeological Site in AlUla, Historic Jeddah, Rock Art in the Hail Region, and Al-Ahsa Oasis.

Through an audiovisual guide, guests can explore 23 other destinations, including world-leading giga-projects which are rewriting the possibilities of sustainable development such as Qiddiya, Diriyah Gate, and King Salman Park.

Following this, visitors will enter ‘Vision,’ a one-of-a-kind art exhibition curated by celebrated Saudi artists. Highlights include a 30m floating virtual sphere and a bespoke interactive floor.

Finally, the pavilion will take visitors through the ‘Discovery Center’, where an innovative platform will connect leaders from around the world to forge exciting partnerships and discuss investment opportunities, visualised through an interactive digital map of Saudi Arabia.

People, opportunity, nature, and heritage are the four pillars that anchor the visitor experience of the Kingdom’s 13,000 square-metre pavilion, an adventure woven into one of the most sustainable structures at Expo 2020 Dubai. It has been awarded the LEED Platinum certification by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the highest internationally recognised sustainability rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.