World Expos- The Real Cultural Olympiad?

I'm not a huge sports fan. When we found out that we had secured the 2012 Olympics I was at an induction to the fire service as a newly elected County Councillor. The reaction couldn't have been more stark. The County Councillors as a whole seemed overjoyed at this success, this showing of UK's strength and credibility following on from the Chinese dragon.

The officers response was far more muted. Already the emergency services were starting to think what the implications would be, covering Hertfordshire, on the doorstep to London.

Our Cultural Olympiad

But what was sold to us wasn't just the most prestigious international sporting event, it was also billed that it would be accompanied by a "Cultural Olympiad" (which the ever useful Wikipedia only references briefly for 2001-2004 in Athens). "The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements." An opportunity to show case all forms of culture, especially from young people. A counterpart to the focus on sporting excellence.

It's a phrase which sadly we don't seem to hear so much about anymore.

After an initial spurt it's faded somewhat, unaided by the recession which hit all cultures.

Shortly after the Olympics though the Chinese hosted another international event, one which sadly doesn't attract the same sort of media interest as the Olympics. This was the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, part of the series of international events also known as the World's Fair. I was privileged enough to visit as part of the British Council supported UK-China:400 delegation.

With no conceptions of what to expect, what I did find was a startling variation of cultures, countries and interpretations on show.

Queuing- something very British

Being a traveller myself, I felt strangely at home in the Expo, in stark contrast to many of the others in my delegation. Some of the UK delegates rushed off to see other parts of Shanghai while they had a chance. Perhaps the cultural "rides" at the ends of the queues weren't interesting enough to make it worth the effort, or perhaps this sanitised introduction to the world was too artificial. However there was no hesitation from the Chinese side and their enthusiasm in places was startling. The reported queues for some pavilions was measured in hours, with some apparently queuing anything up to half a day to see some countries including the UK and China.

Others had no one waiting outside. In my case this meant I was able to visit almost 50 countries, some with their own pavilions, others within the larger continent covering buildings.

Passport to respect

For some of the Chinese I think there was a real feel that this was their only opportunity to "travel", to sample other cultures outside of their own. But then we are talking about a country which is probably better classed as a continent not just in terms of its geographic mass, but also the wide variations in everything from culture and language through to climate and diet this is perhaps not so surprising.

As a result one of the more curious marketing gimmicks, which worked incredibly well, was the sale of "Expo Passports". Each country pavilion or stall was encouraged to have a stamp which was then put in a person's "passport" to show where they had "been". At first this seemed to be a nice way to keep a record of which exhibitions people had visited, until we saw how some of the Chinese were treating it.

Almost in a "pack" form, some groups were running from country stall to country within the larger continental pavilions, just to get the stamps. They had abandoned the pretence of learning about a country and culture, or seeing the touristic information, and instead just wanted to get the stamp. Queues would sometimes form almost instantly as a group would course through like a wave. The trophy at the end?

I guess bragging rights "Look at where I've been!"

The reaction from the exhibitors was very varied. Some countries stopped stamping completely, especially after a few reported incidents of violence, fighting over the stamps, that I could very much imagine. Others limited the number of passports an individual could present or used it as a powerful carrot to push people to queue through the exhibit first, forcing them in effect to learn as they waited. In a few cases enjoying viewing the exhibit meant I actually got a stamp quicker than those who had only queued, demonstrating the extent of the problem, although it could've been my non-Chinese advantage.

And the displays?

These were extremely diverse. From the visionary and thought provoking seed cathedral provided by the British, through to the tourist advertising of some of the African nations.

There were few real themes present. It was noticeable that the European countries tended to play towards pushing thought provoking ideas. Estonia for example had a series of Piggy Banks with a question posed at each. While Monaco relied on an impressive "movie featurette" which told it's entire history and ended with sci-fi space ships.

The African pavilion included many touristic aspects including it's own mini-market for trinkets as well as shows of traditional culture on a regular basis.

The problems and politics

Not everything worked perhaps as smoothly as the Chinese would like to portray. As you went around the countries there were some noticeable "issues". Despite having been open for some time when I visited, some countries were still having huge issues with getting their exhibitions approved through customs control, with no end to the delays in sight.

This demonstrated perhaps the subtle blocks placed against those the Chinese still don't approve of. It was notable that these seemed to be invariably small countries with few resources or trading powers. Although perhaps this is the cynical side of me coming through.

So what can we learn?

Perhaps the biggest thing is that we need to be careful of empty words in international arenas. We've already heard the concerns around the Olympic sports, legacy, and the dangers around this. But what can we do to redeem our ailing attempts towards a Cultural Olympiad?

That question is far harder, but at the moment it's not too late.