Shanghai people watch Expo opening ceremony on big TV 30apr10 300

The 2010 Shanghai Expo opening ceremony () occurred on April 30, 2010 at the Shanghai World Expo Cultural Center in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, a day before the opening of the

Expo 2010 Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...

.The opening ceremony was planned and designed by ECA2's founder, Yves Pepin.

Pre-ceremony

Expo 2010 Shanghai flags and China Pavilion

On April 29, 2010

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...

of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) sat down with former Chairman

Lien Chan Lien Chan ( zh, t=連戰, w=, p=, poj=; born August 27, 1936) is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician. He was the chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government from 1990 to 1993, premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, vice ...

of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

in a pre-expo meeting. In the morning of April 30, the flags of 189 nations, 57 international organizations, the World expo bureau flag and the Shanghai expo flag were all raised at the expo venues.

Outdoor opening fireworks

The event began at 8:10 pm with a massive river side display of

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

and

lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Lighting * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian s ...

.Chinadaily.com.
Chinadaily.com
" ''Hu declares open Shanghai World Expo.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-16.

Indoor ceremony

Leader entrances

Chinese leader

enters Expo Culture center with many world leaders. Twenty foreign

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

or government attended the opening ceremony:20 state or gov't heads to attend Shanghai World Expo opening ceremony

Xinhua Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: ),J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English or New China News Agency, is the official State media, state news agency of the China, People's Republic ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Serzh Sarkisyan *n

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

Denis Sassou-Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He also previously served as president from 1979 to 1992. Sassou Nguesso hea ...

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

and his wife

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*ese

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* Kim Yong Nam,

of the

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of the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the legislature of North Korea. It is ostensibly the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it under the principle of unified ...

of the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...

*an

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*an

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George Abela *

Emanuel Mori *n

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (; born 30 March 1963) is a Mongolian politician and journalist who served as President of Mongolia from 2009 to 2017. He previously served as prime minister in 1998 and again from 2004 to 2006. Elbegdorj was one of the k ...

Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter Balkenende Jr. ( ; born 7 May 1956), commonly known as Jan Peter Balkenende, is a Dutch jurist and politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 to 14 October 20 ...

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

James Alix Michel James Alix Michel, GCSK (born 16 August 1944) is a Seychellois politician who served as the third President of Seychelles from 2004 to 2016. He previously served as vice president under his predecessor, France-Albert René, from 1996 to 2004. ...

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*ese

Nguyen Tan Dung Nguyễn (阮) (sometimes abbreviated as Ng̃) is the most common surname of the Vietnamese people. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as ''Nguyen''. By some estimates 30 to 39 percent of Vietnamese peopl ...

In addition, speakers of legislative bodies, deputy heads, and ministers of over 20 other countries also attended the opening ceremony. Just a few hours before the opening ceremony, the Maltese President, George Abela suffered from an accident, which left his second

Lumbar vertebrae The lumbar vertebrae are located between the thoracic vertebrae and pelvis. They form the lower part of the back in humans, and the tail end of the back in quadrupeds. In humans, there are five lumbar vertebrae. The term is used to describe t ...

slightly damaged. He was taken to the Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, and therefore couldn't attend the ceremony. Chinese leader

paid him a visit at the hospital the following day.

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

Special administrative region chief exec

Donald Tsang Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012. Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyi ...

and

Fernando Chui Fernando Chui Sai On (; born 13 January 1957) is a Macau politician who served as the 2nd chief executive of Macau from 2009 to 2019. He served as secretary for social and cultural affairs from 1999 to 2009. Chui was born in 1957 to local ...

both attended with a group of delegates.

Presentations

The song "Harmonious Gathering" (和谐欢歌) was performed by

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

and

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

Song Zuying Song Zuying (; born August 13, 1966) is a Chinese classical/folk singer. In 2006, she received a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album for ''Song Zu Ying: The Diva Goes To The Movies'' at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Early li ...

. The

PRC flag The national flag of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Five-star Red Flag, is a Chinese red field with five golden stars charged at the canton. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in an arc set off to ...

was raised, and the

March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers", originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", is the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike historical Chinese anthems, previous Chinese stat ...

was played. Then the international bureau exposition flag was raised, and the expo song was played. This was followed by the raising of the Shanghai Expo flag and the playing of the Shanghai Expo song. Then the flag-bearers of 246 participating countries and international organizations paraded out.

Wang Qishan Wang Qishan (; ; born 19 July 1948) is a Chinese retired politician who was one of the leading members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Wang gained prominence in China's financial sector in the late 1980s. In 1994, Wang became the governor ...

Vice Premier of China The vice premiers of the State Council of the People's Republic of China serves as a deputy leader within the State Council. In terms of administrative hierarchy, the Vice Premier holds a position superior to that of ministers, commission dir ...

and BIE president Jean-Pierre Lafon both gave a speech. Hu Jintao then opened up the expo performances with an official statement.

Performances

The first song (相约上海) was sung by PRC's Mao Amin, Lau Yuan-yuan (刘媛媛) and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Wakin Chau Wakin Chau (; born 22 December 1960), better known by his stage name Emil Chau during the 1980s and 1990s, is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese people, Taiwanese singer and actor, popular throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and parts of Sou ...

. They were also accompanied by dancers. An

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

featuring PRC

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Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with major orchestras around the world and appeared at many leading concert halls. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Phi ...

played "

Jasmine Flower "Mo Li Hua" (, also called Sinfa) is a Chinese folk song of the " xiǎodiào" ("short tune") genre, from the Jiangnan region (south of the lower Yangtze river, around Suzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou). The song is usually dated to the 18th century ...

", "

The Blue Danube "The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314 (German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed on 15 Februar ...

", "New Shanghai concerto" (新上海协奏曲), and "

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song" (长江之歌). The theme song "Better city, Better life" was followed and sung by

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

's Jonathan Buck and

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand ...

. An instrumental performance of "Brave Bugle" (勇敢的号角) is performed by a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

troupe (纽西兰毛利艺术团).

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Shinji Tanimura was a Japanese singer-songwriter. Life and career Tanimura set up the musical group Alice together with Takao Horiuchi in 1971 and released his first extended play musical album in the following year. Alice produced its first album two years ...

then perform the song "star" (星). Afterwards the song "A type of love" (一种爱) was performed by the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Soweto Gospel Choir The Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African gospel group. History The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002. The more than 30- ...

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Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

then followed up with a performance of " Nessun dorma". The expo theme song (致世博) was performed by PRC's Huang Ying (黄英), Liao Chang (廖昌永),

Tan Jing Tan Jing (; born September 11, 1977) is a solo Chinese singer in the CPC Central Military Commission Political Department Song and Dance Troupe and a first class national actress. Her music blends bel canto, Chinese national music (Guoyue), and ...

and

Sun Nan Sun Nan (; born February 18, 1969) is a pop singer from Dalian in mainland China. His songs include "Be there or Be Square", "The Wind Goes to North", "Save", and his song for the 2008 Summer Olympics, "Forever Friends". Sun's album ''Crescent ...

. Two Tibetan orphans who survived the earlier

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in central Shanghai. It set numerous

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

s, such as the biggest

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screen, the largest searchlight installation and one of the largest

pyrotechnic Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating fireworks, but also includes safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts (and other fasteners), parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demol ...

displays ever created. The outdoor portion was produced by

David Atkins David Atkins, OAM (born 12 December 1955) is an Australian dancer, choreographer, music-theatre director and producer. Career Stage and television Atkins began his performance career aged 12 with a role in the musical ''Mame''. As an adult ...

enterprise.Asiaprnews.com.
Asiaprnews.com
." ''David Atkins Enterprises Delivers the Outdoor Opening Ceremony….'' Retrieved on 2010-05-16.

Part 1

First music piece was "China welcomes you" (中国欢迎你) accompanied by Spring Festival Overture. First music of that piece was "Civilization" (文明之光), followed by "Better City, Better Life" (), followed by "Urban Rhapsody" (都市协奏曲). In this part was included the track "The Dragon" composed by

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...

in his conceptual album

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Part 2

Second piece was "Happy at expo" (欢聚在世博) accompanied by

Waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

Violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto ''The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto'' (梁山伯与祝英台小提琴协奏曲; often abbreviated ) is one of the most famous Chinese works of orchestral music. It is an adaptation of an ancient legend, the ''Butterfly Lovers,'' and is written f ...

. First music of that piece was "One World, One Home" (), followed by "Water of Life" (生命之水).

Part 3

Third piece was "World celebrate together"(世界同欢庆) accompanied by the piece (在快速机器上的短暂骑行), "Oh, destiny goddess" (哦！命运女神),

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" ( ) is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by the German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller. It was published the following year in the Thalia (German magazine), German magazine ''Thalia''. In 1808, a slightly revi ...

(欢乐颂), "Night of fire festival" (火把节之夜), "Good beijing news to mountain village" (北京喜讯到山寨),

White jasmine White jasmine is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Jasminum officinale ''Jasminum officinale'', known as the common jasmine or simply jasmine, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family (biology), family Oleaceae. ...

(茉莉花).

Concerts

In a separate concert

performed with

Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...

in a celebration of the opening ceremony.Shanghai.cultural-china.com.
Shanghai.cultural-china.com
." ''Lights Up Shanghai - The Grand Expo 2010 Opening Ceremony.'' Retrieved on 2010-05-17.

References

External links

Youtube 1 of 10 CCTV broadcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010 Shanghai Expo Opening Ceremony Expo 2010 Opening ceremonies Ceremonies in China Articles containing video clips

Pre-ceremony

Outdoor opening fireworks

Indoor ceremony

Leader entrances

Presentations

Performances

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Concerts

See also

References

External links