See everything that went into preparing the EXPO 2020 site, as well as a few highlights of the current construction.

Expo 2020 Dubai is a world Expo to be held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The world’s fair is a mega international event in terms of size, scale and duration and number of visitors.

Expo 2020 Dubai is the first world Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, and the first to be hosted by an Arab country.

Expo 2020 covers 4.38 square kilometers and is located in the southern district of Dubai, close to al Maktoum international airport and within easy reach of Dubai international airport, Abu Dhabi international airport and Dubai and Abu Dhabi cruise terminals. The facility will also have its own metro station capable of carrying 36,000 passengers per hour.

It takes 40 minutes by car to reach the Expo site from downtown Dubai.

With EXPO 2020 just a year away, work on the pavilions is proceeding smoothly with most of the primary construction already completed and the rest to be completed by the end of the year.

The BNC network, which tracks projects in the UAE and the GCC region, tracks 69 Expo 2020 pavilions currently in various stages of construction.

About 56 percent of the pavilions tracked by the BNC network are under construction and the remaining 44 percent are under development.

Some of the other major pavilions where work is underway are pavilions in India, Pakistan, Germany, USA, UK, Oman, Netherlands, France, China, New Zealand and others. Some pavilions will be preserved as part of the heritage within the 2020 district.

A colony of honey bees were discovered at the Expo 2020 Dubai site was successfully relocated, thanks to the efforts of the world Expo sustainability Department team, the Beekeepers Association and the courageous Builder who discovered the bees during Construction.

The bees have been identified as Apis mellifera, not native to the UAE. Bees are embedded in a pile of steel armata on the site of the sustainable development pavilion. In accordance with the sustainable development sub-Theme of EXPO 2020, the entire 4.38 square kilometer of the site does not contain pesticides.

Bees haven’t built a honeycomb yet. This means they had barely invested less than 24 hours on the steel bar when they were spotted by the Builder.

It is reported that construction has been temporarily suspended in order to take measures for the safe relocation of bees.

Salar Memon, an environmental and sustainability engineer at ASGC and the man who discovered the nest, said: “I never expected to find a colony of honey bees living on a construction site, but once I discovered the insects, I knew something had to be done. That’s why I volunteered to help Expo 2020 and the beekeepers Association with the rescue; I wanted to make sure the bees found a new home.”

The colony has since doubled in size and visitors to EXPO 2020 may even have the opportunity to taste some of the honey produced by the hive.

Let’s just say sustainability has never been so sweet.

Wait, there were more interesting flora and fauna discovered at the site before they were safely relocated.

The spiny-tailed lizard, a protected species often nicknamed the “little dinosaur” because of its scaly appearance, is one of the wild animals discovered at the site and safely moved during Expo 2020 construction.

A prehistoric reptile species, Uromastyx aegyptia leptieni, and an Arabian sand boa snake, Eryx jayakari, were recently relocated from the 4.38 sq km site. These discoveries follow the successful rehoming of honey bee colonies earlier this year.

The spiny ground beetle, which can grow to more than 70cm in length and is locally known in Arabic as ‘dhub’, has been handed over to Dubai municipality, while the harmless sand oudan has been successfully released back into the desert, its natural habitat.

Other animals, including foxes, gazelles and Arabian hares, have been responsibly relocated since the construction of the Expo began.

What’s more, the site’s carefully cultivated flora inspired Salama’s animated story.

Last month, the final piece of the al Wasl dome was successfully lifted into place after months of planning and complex construction work.

The al Wasl dome surrounds al Wasl square, which is in the heart of Dubai’s Expo 2020. It will be the focal point for celebrations for six months from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, and is set to become Dubai’s newest iconic landmark. To date, more than one million man-hours have been completed at the facility.

The crowning of the dome is a key milestone for Expo 2020 Dubai, with all permanent Expo-led construction on track to be completed by the end of the year, officials say.

The dome’s huge steel crown was positioned in an inspiring feat of precision engineering. Enclosing a space of 724,000 cubic meters and a height of 67.5 meters (higher than the leaning tower of Pisa), the 130-meter domed steel trellis consists of 1,162 separate curved steel sections.

The Grand trellis serves as both an inspirational and performative architectural feature to enhance the use of Al Wasl.

Weighing 550 tons of molded steel, the 22.5-meter crown of The al Wasl dome had to be precisely positioned at the top of the vertical trellis with a margin of error of just three millimeters.

It was completed using a technique called strand-connector. In addition to the structures and equipment needed to lift the dome during this process, the total weight was 830 tons, equivalent to 600 saloon cars.

Eighteen hydraulic jacks, with steel lifting ropes connected to 18 self-contained temporary columns, were used to slowly raise the curved steel crown.

It was located directly on top of the trellis already in place 45 meters above the ground, and attached using 53 temporary connection brackets.

The al Wasl dome wreath was the culmination of a 14-month preparation that began with the last pieces of the dome’s steel thrust leaving Italy on 26 June 2018.

Individual elements first arrived in Dubai in July 2018 and the crown was carefully assembled at ground level before being lifted into place.

Now located, the final piece Of the al Wasl dome will be welded to the rest of the trellis, a process that will take 25 days.

Al Wasl Plaza was designed to form a large “city room”, a meeting place that creates a shaded microclimate that simultaneously includes vibrant performances and natural landscaping. The name Al Wasl means “compound” in Arabic.

Opening day: October 20, 2020

Closing date: April 10, 2021

Weekends and special days: from 10: 00 to 2: 00

Like us on Facebook to see similar stories

Please give an overall rating of the site: