Expo 2020 Dubai has recorded 2,942,388 visits since its grand opening on October 1. The visitor numbers included over 100,000 schoolchildren, with the Expo set to further stimulate young minds during the forthcoming Knowledge and Learning Week from December 12 to 18.

In the past week, Expo 2020 Dubai marked UAE Flag Day, which saw His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai raising the national flag. Also a celebration of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Honour Day hosted Dr Yousef Al-Othaimeen, OIC Secretary General; and the Expo 2020 National Days of Antigua and Barbuda, Indonesia, Colombia, and the Netherlands, which included a visit from Dutch royalty His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima.

Among the big-name guests gracing the Expo stage is Riverdance, the world-famous Irish dance sensation which will run throughout the month of November.

Monaco celebrated its national day with a performance by a 26-member band at the Jubilee Stage, with the Principality’s head of state, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II in attendance. The band was primarily made up, of brass and wind instruments, with trumpets, trombones and saxophones at its core. 

The Expo’s Diwali celebrations featured an entertainment line-up, with the Hindu festival celebrated by acts such as India’s Salim and Sulaiman Merchant, and Bollywood playback singer Vipul Mehta. Late Nights @ Expo also hosted a series of music events to commemorate the festival of lights, including a special showcase from Indian rapper Badshah.

Visitors thronged a temporary circuit at Expo 2020 as the world’s best cyclists, contested Giro d’Italia Criterium – the first ever official sporting event to be staged at a World Expo. In Finish, cyclist Slovakia’s Peter Sagan pipped Colombia’s Egan Bernal to first place.

Urban and Rural Development Week was launched on World Cities Day on October 31 and concluded on November 6, with more than 120 of Expo 2020’s permanent buildings have been Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified. The week included, a special Women’s World Majlis reimagning, what cities and villages, would look like had they been designed by women, and the launch of the Last Mile Delivery Roadmap, a blueprint for making informal settlements safe and sustainable.

During the coming month, there will be the launch of the Explore Expo 2020 Dubai, Explore the World special raffle to win one million Emirates Skywards miles, and a host of other prizes rewarding those who visit as many Country Pavilions as possible.

The number of virtual visits bringing Expo 2020 Dubai to a global digital audience has amounted to 14.8 million since October 1.

Expo 2020 Dubai runs until March 31, 2022.