SHANGHAI (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Tickets for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai are set to go on sale for group purchase on March 27 and to the general public on July 1st.
Tickets will be available through ticket sales agencies and kiosks as well as online and via telephone for $22 dollars USD.
Organizers for the event are expecting a total of 70 million visitors over the course of the event. 95% of the visitors are expected to come from China while 5% from overseas, Zhong Yanqun, full-time deputy director of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai Executive Committee told China news outlet, Chinaview.
Organizers for the event have shaken off recent concerns that the Expo would be affected by the global economic downturn. According to Shanghai Daily, although several nations have had some preliminary difficulties in securing funding, as of yet no country has withdrawn from the expo and many countries have commenced work on their pavilions.
The Expo is a major undertaking for China and the price tag is expected to more than double the 2008 Olympics. Like the Olympics, the event seems to be a matter of national pride for the Chinese and to avoid having countries pull out of the event, the government of China has also established a fund of $100 million to provide aid for any nation unable to secure funding for their pavilions.
"I think all the participating countries are willing to use the Shanghai Expo as an opportunity to boost their national images," Wan Jifei, vice director of the Shanghai World Expo Executive Committee and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference said during the advisory board's annual meeting "China is willing to offer assistance to help them cut costs and increase efficiencies." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
