Shanghai Daily news

World Expo Shanghai may expand the numbers of cities to display in the Urban Best Practices Area due to the huge candidate list, organizers said yesterday.

There are 111 on the candidate list for the UBPA, a highlight of Shanghai Expo that will showcase real displays of successful urban development.

Organizers had originally planned to narrow the field down to 30 for the 15-hectare area in the expo site.

Among the 111 candidates, 40 are proposed by cities themselves, 46 by UNESCO and 25 by the World Bank, said Zhou Hanmin, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, after the second meeting of the International Selecting Committee for the UBPA.

Zhou said the organizers are considering giving more opportunities for some excellent candidates which won't occupy a big area by establishing a joint pavilion.

"For example, we reviewed the case of a small city in Europe," said Zhou, without revealing its name.

"The post-industrialization-background city has published a series of text books emphasizing environmental protection since kindergarten, which proves to be very important in improving citizens' garbage-disposal and street-sanity habits.

"We don't think text books will need a big exhibiting space, but they are good cases, so we can put them in the joint pavilion."

Organizers emphasized the importance of variety to make sure candidates reflect all the cities of the world.

The area will also have cultural performances aimed at non-material heritage, said Zhou.

The final candidate list will be decided by the end of February, 2008.

The area will showcase mostly real realty and landscapes. Models and multi-media presentations will have to take a back seat.

The organizers started a worldwide hunt for cities to participate in the UBPA on May 14, and postponed the deadline for submissions to January 31, 2008, to cope with the overwhelming numbers.

The two presidents of the selection committee, Vicente Loscertales, secretary general of the Bureau of International Expositions, and Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, executive director of UN-HABITAT, also attended yesterday's meeting and called it "constructive and fruitful."