ASIA - Korea has wrapped the 93-day Yeosu Expo 2012 with a fireworks display on the same day as the Olympic Games drew to a close in London.
The closing ceremony on 12 August was attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, who commended the organisers for staging one of Korea’s largest ever international events.
Yeosu had four years and six months to prepare for hosting the 2012 Expo and allegedly reached its target of eight million visitors. The public exhibition was conceived to deliver messages about climate change, with a particular focus on maritime resource development and maritime environment preservation.
However, according to Korea’s national press, the number of foreign visitors at Yeosu Expo 2012 peaked at around 400,000, a figure 150,000 down on initial estimates.
According to local reports, the organising committee may re-open the venue within a month to maintain interest in the region as a tourist and investment destination.
Fondazione Fiera Milano (FFM) has handed over land earmarked for Expo 2015 Milan to the parties entrusted with seeing the project through to completion.
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