The government allocated half a billion for Expo 2010

Teplice/Praha - The government today allocated roughly half a billion crowns for the representation of the republic at the World Expo 2010 in China. For the last expo, which took place in 2005 in Japan, the state paid about 300 million crowns.
    The budget for the Czech participation in Shanghai will be higher, among other reasons, due to the pavilion being twice as large as the one the Czech Republic had in the Japanese prefecture of Aichi. While in the land of the rising sun, the Czechs used about 900 square meters, in the most populous country on the planet, it will be a pavilion with an area of 2000 square meters.
    Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek (ODS) stated after today's off-site government meeting in Teplice that, thanks to the public and private sectors, they managed to reduce the costs per square meter of exhibition space. While in Japan the Czechs paid 316,000 crowns, in the neighboring Asian powerhouse it will cost 266,000 crowns per square meter.
    Topolánek also thanked Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and General Commissioner for the preparation of the exhibition Pavel Stehlík, who, according to him, managed to eliminate the ten-month delay that occurred at the beginning of the preparations.
    Ministers also agreed on the concept of the Czech exposition at the Expo on the theme "Fruits of Civilization." The Prime Minister is pleased that the Czech Republic will not only present itself at the World Expo traditionally with its beer, monuments, or folklore but will also present itself as a modern and dynamically developing country that emphasizes the environment and research.
    Stehlík would welcome private companies to participate in financing the Czech presentation. According to Stehlík, the pavilion will be located in a busy part of the exhibition in the European sector near the exhibition square, surrounded by, for example, the Irish, Portuguese, or Slovak pavilions. The Prime Minister believes that the Czech pavilion will be in a very attractive location.
    The Czech presentation at the last World Expo in Japan was seen by nearly 1.7 million visitors. The Czechs introduced an interactive Garden of Music, which was a relaxing space with optical and sound objects that visitors could touch and try out. The program for Shanghai is still being prepared.