Lavish opening ceremony for Shanghai World Expo

Shanghai’s World Expo kicked off on Friday with spectacular fireworks, lasers and a star-studded gala ceremony. Before Chinese President Hu Jintao declared the show open, the Chinese national anthem was played and the flags of all 189 participating countries were paraded through the hall.

Photo: Reuters

China is giving the 2010 World Expo as much attention as it lavished on the 2008 Olympic Games, hoping that the event will show off the country's growing political and economic influence.

Italian pop tenor Andrea Bocelli, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and the Soweto Gospel Choir from South Africa all joined actor Jackie Chan, in a departure from the usual World Expo openers.

The gates open on Saturday and exhibiting countries will be vying for attention, trying to outdo each other in presenting the best they have to offer to China's 1.3 billion people.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Shanghai earlier on Friday, hoping to promote better treatment of French business.

“Dynamic, ambitious, modern,” is how Sarkozy described his impressions of Shanghai to a Chinese newspaper on Friday.

Photo: Reuters

But he said French companies must be able to compete against their Chinese counterparts on “an equal footing”, as he spent time touring the French pavilion at the Expo.

“It is not useful to have an aggressive discussion with China,” Sarkozy said to representatives of the French community during a meeting at a Shanghai hotel. “It is absolutely counterproductive”.

Many past expos are remembered for leaving architectural landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Space Needle in Seattle. This year in Shanghai the spotlight falls on the different national pavilions, including China’s red inverted pyramid, Britain’s “Seed Cathedral”, Spain’s “Big Basket” and Switzerland’s “Meadow”.

Security has been stepped up in the commercial capital with paramilitary police on the streets, with random identification checks as well as stop and search operations on transport entering and leaving the city.

It is thought that the country has spent more on the Expo than the Beijing Olympics.

But human rights groups have been quick to draw attention to the silencing of dissent and problems with accreditation for some journalists.