There are two kinds of World Expos, the International Expo which is held every five years, this is the one which was held last in Nagoya in 2005, and will be held in Shanghai in 2010. Other famous ones are the 1964 New York Fair, 1889 Paris Exposition where the Eiffel Tower was unveiled and the 1988 Brisbane Expo. The other world expo is the International Expositions, this year we have one of those, they are on a smaller scale and open for 3 months instead of the normal 6 but still have some cutting edge innovations, designs and attract millions of people. Zaragoza in Spain is the host for what is to be themed Water and Sustainable Development. A huge 25 hectare site has been created to house this expo and over 40,000 people from all over the world have signed up to be volunteers at the event. Starting on the 15 of June on the banks of the Ebro river the event will be massive. About 100 countries and several large multinational companies are taking part. Highlights of the expo will include a massive 76 metere high water tower and a huge aquarium featuring the world’s great river systems with animals from the Nile, Mekong, Amazon, Murray Darling, Ebro and many of the worlds oceans. Already season tickets have sold out and day passes are selling like hot cakes. Read the rest of this entry »
Valencia in Spain is home to the world’s largest aquarium in Europe, it is home to 45,000 animals and over 500 different species including sharks, penguins, dolphins, seals, walruses and these amazing beluga whales. The beluga whale comes from Arctic regions and grows to about 5 metres long. As you will see from today’s You Tube video its not hard to see why they are the aquarium’s star attraction. They are extremely intelligent and from the the centre is part of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciencies which is a huge complex with some amazing architecture and also features an opera house, Imax, planetarium, laserium and a huge science museum all set out in beautiful parklands and waterways. Read the rest of this entry »
Plans are underway to build a huge Las Vegas style city in Spain called Gran Escala in the Los Monegros Desert about half way between Madrid and Barcelona. The plan will feature huge resorts with 32 hotel- casinos, a race course, sports stadium, golf courses, equestrian centres and two major theme parks including a water park and spy themed park. Over 17 billion Euros have been committed to the project and over 25 million people are expected to visit a year once this stage is complete over the next decade. Tourism is a huge earner in Spain, it now makes up 12% of the country’s economy. It is hoped this development will further strengthen tourism and threaten France as Europe’s most visited city. We are not sure if there is going to be a Spanish Elvis or the wedding chapels and buffets but there’s every chance.
