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By Trend

Around one million guests visited Azerbaijan’s national pavilion at the Milan Expo 2015 international exhibition, which is being held under the motto "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life" in Milan from May 1.

Some 145 countries are represented at the exhibition. Some 54 countries are represented by the national pavilions, others – by separate exhibits.

More than 900,000 people have observed the Azerbaijani pavilion during the first month of the presentation. According to the national pavilion, an influx of people is great, as around 10,000 people attend it every day. In general, the attendance of the national pavilions is so great that the World Exhibition management decided to extend the Expo opening hours on weekends till 24:00 (UTC/GMT +4 hours).

Azerbaijan is represented at the Milan Expo 2015 exhibition for the first time thanks to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Heydar Aliyev Center. The foundation of the national four-story pavilion entitled "Azerbaijan: a treasure-house of biodiversity" was founded in July 2014.

A working group of 300 local and foreign specialists was created to implement this project. One can review the historical and cultural heritage, abundant environmental and energy potential and rare biodiversity of Azerbaijan in a 1,800 square meter pavilion area.

First among the participating countries, Azerbaijan held the presentations related to the content and design of the pavilion. At the same time, the foreign press and the leading media of Italy reported that Azerbaijan is a leading country on the completion of construction and design work in the pavilion.

The official delegations of the various countries and the management of the exhibition said that Azerbaijan’s pavilion differs from other in its design. It is fully consistent with the chosen theme.

The various presentations are planned to be held in the pavilion, characterized by the original design, for six months. The performances of Azerbaijani creative groups are periodically conducted here. The pavilion visitors show great interest in the original interactive booths and exhibits. At the same time, they have the opportunity to listen to mugham, see the dances, taste delicious sweets - shekerbura, baklava (sweet nut pies), etc.

One of the pavilion visitors from Milan Giancarlo Marchetti expressed his admiration for the Azerbaijani exposition.

"You know, Azerbaijan is little known in Italy,” he said. “Together with my friends I decided to visit the Expo to learn more about the world and those countries that are little known to us. An interesting design of your pavilion immediately attracted our attention. We attended it and did not regret. We have already visited more than a dozen pavilions, but your informative and interactive booth differs from others. It is enough to pass a hand over the screens and one can see a lot of interesting things, including video tours through your capital. And your sweets are very delicious!”

"I was at a mugham concert in Paris in 2014,” Eva, an elderly Parisian, who attended the pavilion with her husband, said. “I liked your unique music. By seeing the word "Azerbaijan", we immediately decided to review it. I didn't know that you have such traditions, culture, cuisine. I put down two recipes of your sweets and I do not know whether I can prepare them. Thank you. "

A family with two children from Rome was also pleased with Azerbaijan’s pavilion.

"The children were delighted with your booth,” the family member Alice said. “They really liked to pass their hands over the ignited tulip lights and see interactive screens. In my opinion, the most interesting pavilion is yours.”

Milan Expo 2015 will last till October 31. The ticket for the exhibition costs 39 euros. Expo exhibitions are considered to be the most widespread and visited ones after the Olympic Games and the Soccer World Cup.

The exhibition organizers expect more than 20 million people to attend the world's largest exposition within six months. According to the preliminary forecasts of the organizers, at least 12 million people from Italy and the EU countries and around 8 million citizens of other countries will attend the Milan exhibition.

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