EXPO 2020 DUBAI, January 18, 2022
I'm in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. As I reflect on it, I'm here because of my stamp collection. When I was a 12-year-old boy, sitting in my bedroom in North Toronto, listening to “Put another nickel in the nickelodeon,” thanks to my father who introduced me to postage stamps, I spent a lot of time with my stamp collection.
The thing about stamp collections, and any of you who ever had one will know this, is that they give you a glimpse of the world you would never have if you didn’t collect stamps.
In my case, I fantasized about Mozambique and Azerbaijan, Sarawak and Senegal. I didn’t fantasize about the United Arab Emirates since it did not even exist.
But inspired by my stamp collection days and fascination about the world, in 2007, Sally and I booked an around the world trip on Emirates Airline. I wanted to use Emirates since Dubai was the place I most wanted to see as an architect. I did. For me it was Disneyland for architects. So, when it was announced that Dubai would host the 2020 World Fair, I decided that I wanted to return.
I should note that I have always been fascinated by World Fairs since they can bring the world together in one place and offer a glimpse into the future. While Expo 67 was my first, and EXPO 86 the most significant, over the years I’ve attended Expo 1998 in Lisbon, 2010 in Shanghai, 2012 in Yeosu, 2017 in Astana (but just after it ended) and now 2020 in UAE. (For those interested, 2023 will be in Buenos Aries and I’ll hopefully be there since I love that city, and 2025 is in Osaka, since I have missed it on all my trips to Japan.}
One day Gordon Price heard about my intention to attend the fair in Dubai, and asked if he and his partner Len could join me. Of course, I said and his travel agent picked the best dates, flights and hotels. Tragically, Gordon contracted Covid before our departures, so I had to set off on my own.
The theme of this world fair seems to be related to sustainability. I'll write more about it but in the meanwhile suffice it to say that notwithstanding the stress of waiting for my Covid test results and two overnight flights to get her over two days, I am so very glad that I am here.
Much more to come.