Media Release
International Venue Group (IVG), an Australian company based in Melbourne, has won a public tender to provide staffing, retail and operations services worth up to $12 million for Australia's pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
This will be the biggest world expo in history. Over 220 countries and organisations are expected to take part, and organisers predict up to seventy million visitors during the expo, which runs from 1 May to 31 October 2010.
Australia will seize this unprecedented opportunity to strengthen bilateral links through a striking national pavilion, augmented by targeted trade and investment promotion activities, and associated cultural and communications programs. The total project cost is $83 million, which is the largest investment Australia has ever made in a world expo. The Government intends to take full advantage of this platform to raise Australia's profile, showcase Australian capability, and to support Australia's commercial interests in the China market.
IVG will play a pivotal role in this project, delivering a broad scope of services that include: facilitating events for over 200 business and high-level functions in the VIP facility; developing creative menus that showcase the best of Australian food and wine; and operating retail outlets that will appeal to the seven million people expected to visit Australia's pavilion.
Importantly, IVG will recruit and train over 120 Australians to work at the pavilion. Drawn from around the nation and the expatriate community in China, this team – including bilingual exhibition guides, interpreters, and hospitality and retail staff – will be instrumental in delivering positive messages about contemporary Australia.
International Venue Group is owned by IMG and Calibre Management International. IMG is a global entertainment and lifestyle marketing and management company with six offices in China and 80 staff headquartered in Shanghai. It has operated in China since 1979. Calibre Management International provides event and venue management services to a broad client base including federal, state and local governments and public and private companies. Calibre Management International and IMG managed a similar range of services for Australia's pavilion at the 2005 Aichi World Expo in Japan.
Australia's pavilion will be built on a 4800 square metre site in the centre of the expo. The pavilion's exhibitions will both entertain visitors and project a clear image of contemporary Australia as a country with a sophisticated modern economy, a skilled workforce, and a culturally diverse society. Consistent with the expo theme of 'Better City, Better Life', Australia's participation will promote Australia's cities, which are consistently ranked amongst the most liveable in the world, as great places in which to study, live and work.
The Shanghai World Expo 2010 provides a wealth of opportunities for Australian business. Companies will be able to participate in a structured program of trade and investment promotion activities, including trade missions, targeted business networking events and sectoral promotions in the pavilion's VIP area. They also have the chance to provide goods and services to the project and to become corporate sponsors.
The Shanghai World Expo will take place between 1 May and 31 October 2010. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is leading the expo project in collaboration with Commonwealth agencies, state and territory governments and private sector stakeholders. Information about Australia's participation in the Shanghai World Expo 2010 can be found at www.expo2010.com.au.
Media Enquiries: DFAT Media Liaison - 02 6261
1555