It’s been nearly two months of excitement since the Expo 2020 in Dubai was launched, and although the Expo 2020 is not sharing any official visitor numbers yet regarding individual pavilion visits, there are reasons to believe that the Luxembourg’s €32m pavilion may be one of the most visited pavilions so far based on informal exchanges with other pavilions at Expo 2020, Pauline Weis, the media and communication manager at the Luxembourg Pavilion told Delano.

During the parliamentary sessions on 16 November, economy minister Franz Fayot (LSAP), who was on a three-day official economic mission to the Dubai World Expo, where he announced the first support programme for space startups, highlighted the fact that the Luxembourg pavilion is one of the ten most visited pavilions at the Expo 2020 in Dubai.

On 26 November, the pavilion will celebrate visitor number 222,222.  “To date, more than 3 million visitors have crossed the gates of the Expo site. Luxembourg Pavilion’s slide is often mentioned among the top 5 attractions at Expo and has been together with our diversity section with the 70 hands one of the most instagram worthy hotspots inside an Expo Pavilion,” Weis reveals. 

The pavilion, which was recently upgraded with a glass façade and glass interiors provided by global manufacturer Guardian Glass, continues to welcome top figures, including political and business leaders from around the world and the grand duchy. Some of the names that visited in November include, his royal highness and founding president of Malaysian think tank Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin; the crown prince of Dubai, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum; his highness Sheikh Saqr Bin Humaid Al Qasimi; his royal highness Dr. Bandar Bin Salman Bin Mohamed Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia; Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Group; minister-president of Wallonia, Elio Di Rupo; Jean Claude Marcourt, president of the parliament of Wallonia; economy minister of San Marino, Federico Pedini Amati, and many others.

Other pavilion leaders, such as the commissioner general of France, Erik Linquier, and Patrick Vercauteren Drubbel, the commissioner general of the Belgian pavilion, have also paid visits in the past week.

A virtual pavilion and Schengen Lounge special 

The experience is now open to residents, thanks to initiatives such as the virtual pavilion by the Luxembourg ministry for digitalisation, and a partnership with the École d'Hôtellerie et de Tourisme du Luxembourg (EHTL), that resulted to the release of a Schengen Lounge recipe book.

Earlier this month, the Minister delegate for digitalisation, Marc Hansen (DP), launched the travelling exhibition to showcase the Luxembourg pavilion in virtual reality. This means that residents can partake in the experience right here in the grand duchy, thanks to the virtual pavilion, which will be made available in several parts of the country on different dates. Some of the viewing locations include, La Belle Étoile (26-28 November 2021), Knauf Shopping Center Pommerloch (3-5 December 2021), Belval Plaza Shopping Center (10-11 December 2021), Kirchberg Shopping Center (14-15 January 2022), Copal Grevenmacher (28-29 January 2022), Topaze Shopping Center (25-26 February 2022), City Concorde (4-5 March 2022), Galerie Simoncini (24-31 March 2022).  More locations are expected to be included in several other municipalities.

But that’s not all.

To spice up the virtual experience for residents, a featuring some of the reinvented Luxembourgish dishes by executive chef Kim Kevin de Dood--from Luxembourg’s Schengen Lounge--is now available for free in both English and French. Thanks to this joint initiative, you can enjoy Luxembourgish specialties such as the Gromperekichelercher (potato cakes) alongside a smoked salmon side dish or some celeriac fritters just before heading out for the virtual reality exhibition!

In the spirit of Christmas

In the coming weeks, plans are underway to promote the grand duchy as a tourist destination for the end of year season, which is currently marked by the Luxembourg City’s Winterlights festival. “We will also bring to the sandpit a bit of Christmas culture, especially since Dubai is very open with regard to other religions,” explains Weis, adding  that the pavilion anticipates “numerous Luxembourgish residents and international tourists” during the holidays. 

This article was updated on 26 November with additional information provided.