Cirque du Soleil to design Canadian pavilion at Shanghai Expo
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 | 1:39 PM ET
CBC News
Cirque du Soleil will represent Canada at a world expo in Shanghai in 2010.
The federal government announced Monday it has asked the masters of acrobatic spectacle to design Canada's pavillion for the 2010 Shanghai Exhibition.
The project involves designing a 6,000-square-metre pavilion (the size of 2½ hockey rinks) on the Expo 2010 site, near the centre of Shanghai.
Working with the Cirque to create a Canadian pavilion will "increase the visibility of Canada" at the exhibition, Heritage Minister Josée Verner said in a statement.
Ottawa is supplying $13.5 million in financing and more is to be raised privately.
The Cirque has a mandate to design a building, create presentations to be seen by the public, organize the cultural program and establish alliances with the private sector.
A public call has already been issued for designing the pavilion.
The preliminary design concept is for an open public place, surrounded by three large structures.
Visitors will enter the pavilion through the public place, which will include a performing area, then circulate through the larger structures that house exhibitions.
The pavilion's theme will be "The Living City: inclusive, sustainable, creative," in keeping with the Expo 2010 themes of "Better City, Better Life."
About 5.5 million visitors are expected to visit the Canadian building from May 1 to Oct. 31, 2010.
The Cirque du Soleil is already known in Shanghai, having taken its Quidam show to Shanghai last year.
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