By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-24 10:46

Scenes inspired by British urban living and interactive displays are some of the highlights planned for the British pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.

Britain, which founded the expo movement and will be taking part in the upcoming six-month event, has six design teams working on the design of the British pavilion.

Their design schemes, including the one by Marks Barfield, the curator of the famous London Eye, will be on display for three days starting today at the Shine Art Space in Shanghai.

"The Shanghai Expo is about the partnership between the UK and China and also China and the other participants. It offers an opportunity for countries all over the world to share their experiences and challenges," Carma Elliot, the British consul-general in Shanghai, said yesterday.

"Everybody knows about the Shanghai Expo, and they will be excited about what is going to be at the event. The Expo is the equivalent of the Olympics, but even bigger. It will be the biggest ever Expo in terms of both visitors and participants, so that speaks for itself," she added.

An exhibit that illustrates Britain's design and architectural expertise is also expected to strengthen its chances of getting a slice of China's booming design industry.

"We hope we will be able to bring a creative part to the Shanghai Expo. We can work in future on issues such as energy efficiency, sustainable development and urban living," Elliot said.