7th coordination meeting with the participating EU Member States

The 7th coordination meeting with the participating EU Member States at Expo 2015 Milan took place on Friday 31th August in the European Union pavilion. This proficuous meeting introduced by Commissioner General Wilkinson and chaired by Deputy Commissioner General Giancarlo Caratti, was the occasion to make a first assessment of the first 4 months of Expo. Fabrizio Grillo, Secretary General of the Italian pavilion and Managing Director for International Organizations and Special Projects, gave the audience some interesting figures, recalling that there were 2.8 million visitors in July and already 2.4 million during the first 3 weeks of August.

The very large crowds seen on the Expo site during the last weeks should remain important in September with the new school year starting and the introduction of the new schedule with opening of the site at 9 in the morning and night tickets starting from 6PM. Special emphasis was also put on the legacy of Expo and the important events taking place in October. Coordination is key to ensure the maximum impact of Expo, and this will also be true for the next Expos that will take place in Astana 2017 and Dubai 2010.

Giancarlo Caratti invited all member states to work together in view of these important events and consider the possibility to favour a common front continuing for the future Expos the coordination process underway for Milano and improving the coherence of the EU's participation. At the end of the meeting, all participants were invited to a cocktail on the terrace of the EU pavilion right in front of the Lake Arena where they could enjoy the night show of the Tree of Life.