Andalusia Week at the Expo 2020 in Dubai will be held from 7 to 13 February under the title ‘Andalusia, a smart future at Expo 2020 Dubai’, and is to showcase the region’s potential as a reference in research, technology and creativity. The opening day on Monday, 7 February will be attended by the Director General of Andalucía Global, Rosario Alarcón, who will attend the various activities scheduled for that day in the Spanish Pavilion. They include a show-cooking session with outstanding products from Andalusian gastronomy, performances by the Andalusian Flamenco Ballet, fashion shows and extra virgin olive oil tastings, among others.
The Andalusia Week, organised by the Regional Government of Andalusia, will position Andalusia as a reference for the challenges of a sustainable future, the main theme of Expo 2020 Dubai, the world’s largest showcase for human progress. It will also be the perfect opportunity for Andalusia to show the world the unique way in which it is facing the future, enhancing the best of its tradition with the latest technological innovations, to build a model of sustainable development.
The Andalusian Day of Honour is programmed for 12 February as the central event of this cycle of activities at Expo 2020 Dubai. The event will be full of activities aimed at disseminating the region’s strengths in economic areas that offer important business opportunities in the UAE market, such as agri-food (through gastronomy), consumer goods (through fashion), cultural industries (through flamenco), together with its strength as a global tourist destination.
For the Junta de Andalucía, Expo 2020 Dubai is a unique opportunity for the region to showcase the sectors that have the greatest opportunities in the Middle East, a region to which over 1,500 Andalusian companies exported goods worth 401 million euros in the first eleven months of 2021, 10.4% up on the same period last year. Half of these sales (202 million euros) went to the United Arab Emirates, where Andalusian exports grew by 34% over the same period last year.
Andalusia in pictures
All the information about the calendar of activities of Andalusia Week at Expo 2020 Dubai is available on the bilingual page on the web portal of Extenda-Andalucía Exportación e Inversión Extranjera (https://www.andaluciatrade.es/expo-dubai). This URL will be the virtual showcase for Andalusia’s presence at this universal event and will provide information on all matters related to the activities. It will also contain the promotional videos created to disseminate the benefits of Andalusia in different areas: sustainable development, industry, research, technology, business, agro-industry and fishing, etc., as well as its connection with Arab culture through the common history and culture of al-Andalus.
In this way, Andalusia Week at Expo Dubai 2020 will feature 16 promotional videos, designed to show Andalusia to the world. They focus on four important themes for the region: research, as the basis of Andalusia’s leadership in the food industry linked to the land and sea; technology for industrial and business growth; inter-cultural tradition as the unique heritage of the Andalusian people and the region’s connection with Middle Eastern culture; and sustainability for the future, thanks to the region’s potential in renewable energies. This audiovisual display will be broadcast continuously in the Spanish Pavilion all week long.
As part of the first theme, research, Andalusia presents the sustainable exploitation of its land and sea resources (olive groves; technological fertile, irrigated regions; and solar energy, etc.). The second theme highlights technology as the main tool for developing the Andalusian business fabric, its economy, employment and internationalisation. The third theme focuses on Andalusia’s inter-cultural tradition (Andalusian legacy, Flamenco art and tourism, etc.). And the last theme, the sustainable future, looks at the actions that have been carried out and Andalusia’s potential in terms of sustainability and its commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Similarly, in order to promote Andalusian tourism at the event, there will be an interactive stand in the Spanish Pavilion where visitors can see the diversity of tourist options in the region.
Flamenco dance, fashion shows and tastings
Every day, there will be a series of activities to promote Andalusia at Expo 2020 Dubai, such as show-cookings and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) tastings. The chef Amelia Gómez will showcase the quality of the region’s liquid gold and the many traditional Andalusian-inspired recipes that still remain part of Andalusian gastronomy. She will cook a variety of dishes that combine Andalusian EVOO with the best-known Arab recipes.
Similarly, and highlighting the fact that Flamenco is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and one of Andalusia’s most recognised signs of identity, there will also be Flamenco art and fashion presentations. For the event, the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, an organisation with a 25-year track record of almost 1,500 performances on five continents, will hold daily Flamenco singing and dancing shows.
With regard to Andalusian fashion, a form of expression that has crossed borders and is admired from East to West, the Junta de Andalucía has organised fashion shows to present the best designs from the region with the help of the agency Doble Erre.
Promotion of Andalusia as a destination
During Andalusia Week, a mobile information point will be set up to show all the tourist resources and attractions of Andalusia as a destination through the official website of the Regional Department of Tourism. For this purpose, and specifically for these markets, an accessible website has been set up in various languages with all the tourist brochures and special publications (available for touch screens). The information can be not only consulted in situ, but also downloaded using QR technology.
A delegation of over 10 Andalusian tourist entrepreneurs will travel to the Emirates to hold multiple networking events, visit outgoing agencies and give presentations as part of the Andalusian Tourism Professional Days programme. They will be able to present the country’s main operators and intermediaries for Andalusia’s tourism offer, especially for the segments most in demand by travellers from the United Arab Emirates and its area of influence.
The Middle East is a very attractive market for Andalusia, thanks to loyalty and knowledge of the destination, and also because of the high-purchasing-power profile of travellers from the outgoing agencies. Their preferences include cultural tourism and segments linked to luxury and family tourism.
Expo 2020 Dubai: ‘Connecting minds, building the future’
Expo 2020 Dubai is the first global event of its kind in the aftermath of the global coronavirus crisis, and the first World Expo to be hosted by an Arab country and the Middle East region. After its postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it began on 1 October 2021 and is scheduled to end on 31 March 2022. The theme of the Expo is ‘Connecting minds, building the future’ and it is divided into three areas: Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity.
After Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the second-largest economic power in the Gulf and the seventh-largest producer of natural gas and oil in the world. It is diversifying its economy and engaging in an important opening-up process in finances and tourism. Furthermore, Dubai is now a world-leading financial, logistics, trade and tourism centre and stands as a crossroads for Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Spain at Expo 2020 Dubai
The Spain Pavilion is located in the thematic area of Sustainability and focuses on two exhibition areas: one on universal culture and its relationship with the Arab world; and the other showing Spain’s innovative contributions to the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. Under the theme ‘Intelligence for life’, Spain is one of 192 countries and organisations with its own pavilion and is to celebrate its week at Expo 2020 Dubai from 1 to 6 February to make the country attractive to tourists and investors alike.
The Foro de Marcas Renombradas Españolas (FMRE, Leading Brands of Spain Forum) manages the store Brands of Spain Shop, the commercial space of the Spain Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. This space is conceived as an extension of visitors’ experience at the Pavilion, giving them the opportunity to get to know and buy some of the leading Spanish brands. As in the rest of the Pavilion, the common thread of the store is sustainability and it is divided into two spaces: one on gastronomy; and the other on fashion brands and accessories.
