UK at Expo in partnership with China
The UK works in partnership with China across a broad range of areas from people to people exchanges in academia, science and culture, to government- government exchanges in financial services, the economy, and climate change. This is reflected the broad nature of the UK’s programme at Expo:
The Seed Cathedral is centred around a partnership. The amazing construction contains 10s of thousands of seeds Kunming Botanical Institute, a partner of the UK Kew Gardens’Millennium Seed Bank.
Business events: The UK has over 300 business and cultural events at Expo. And every activity involves a UK-China partnership. For example workshops in creative industries; brought together British and Chinese architects and advertisers. Creatives pent a day pooling their talents to produce a result which is more than the sum of their parts
National Day: The centrepiece of UK national day programme is the world premiere of a ballet created especially for UK National Day at the World Expo 2010, but performed by dancers from both the English National Ballet and the Shanghai Ballet.
The National Day programme
On UK National Day, the programme includes:
British Business Awards (the night before)
Flag raising ceremony
Speeches by VIPs, tours of the UK and Chinese pavilions
The world premiere of a ballet“The Weight of Love”, performed by dancers from English National Ballet and the Shanghai Ballet.
Swanning Around, a re-imagining of Swan Lake performed by students from schools across China and the UK. The performance will be the culmination of the international cultural exchange programme presented by English National Ballet, the Royal Albert Hall, WebPlay and the British Council.
A concert by London Symphony Orchestra
Reception at the UK Pavilion aimed directly at the Chinese business community
Closing the day, there will be a performance by the Band of the Royal Marines at the pavilion
Event details
British Business Awards: The Awards mark the start of UK National Day: The British Business Awards are an awards programme organized by the British Chambers of Commerce in China to recognize and promote excellence in innovation enterprise and endeavor, in the British Business community in China. Through eight categories, the Awards will showcase organizations and individuals who are achieving outstanding results and who demonstrate the highest level of commitment to Sino-British trade and investment relations in a variety of disciplines in China. This year, the Awards will also recognize the excellent accomplishments of Chinese businesses operating in the UK.
London Symphony Orchestra: This gala concert will open the Rolls-Royce LSO 2010 China Tour which will go to other venues in Shanghai and Beijing. The LSO will also engage in educational activity with local conservatoires during their visit to China.
English National Ballet: The world premiere of The Weight of Love , has been created especially for UK National Day at the World Expo 2010. It will be performed by dancers from English National Ballet and the Shanghai Ballet, with music composed by Van Le Ngoc.
Swanning Around: Over 100 students from the UK and China will also
take to the stage in Swanning Around at the Expo Centre. Swanning Around is a
re-imagining of Swan Lake choreographed by dance artists from English National
Ballet, and the culmination of a year-long education project developed by the
ENB, the Royal Albert Hall and Webplay and supported by the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms programme.
Congregation: Outside the Expo Park, a light installation by media artists KMA will take place at the Rockbund Art Museum from 5 to 8 September. Congregation is the world’s first-ever ballet designed, choreographed and composed entirely for members of the public: the audience members become the performers and are invited to explore the environment at their own will, responding to the choreography of projected light and sound. After its world premiere at Rockbund Art Museum, Congregation will be presented at Tate Britain, London.
Duke Special. On 6, 7 and 9 September, there will be live music from Duke Special at the UK Pavilion. Duke Special is a pianist, singer-songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has a romantic and theatrical style, a warm voice and a very distinctive look. He has supported acts such as Van Morrison and Snow Patrol, and in Shanghai will be accompanied by a keyboard player, drummer, saxophonist, and bass player.
Resident Performers. The street performances brought by more than a dozen street performance companies create surprises to visitors wherever they go, and subtly to change the way people think about the open air environment. Everywhere can be a place for theatre. Never just expect the normal and the predictable.
The UK Pavilion concept
The open park represents the openness of UK society, and the seed cathedral the tradition of creativity in the UK. Together they also have a deeper significance–in the UK there is a close connection between urban life and nature. The UK Pavilion wanted to challenge visitors to consider the importance of nature, biodiversity in Better City, Better Life.
The Highlight of the UK Pavilion -- UK National Day>>
The British Business Awards is to inaugurate the UK Pavilion Day>>
Seed Cathedral - The UK Pavilion>>
British Business Awards 2010 Winners Announced>>