Czech Republic at EXPO 2010: a pavilion with pucks, a golden tear, and Budvar

Information about the Czech exhibition at this year's Expo in Shanghai, China, which starts on Saturday:

Theme: Fruits of Civilization; the Czech Republic will present an exhibition titled Urbanized Landscape, the exhibition pavilion will serve as a kind of fictional city full of technological experiences, design surprises, and sensations.

Cost: around half a billion CZK

Pavilion: The exterior is covered with 63,000 hockey pucks printed with the Expo logo, which create the layout of Prague's Old Town. This decoration caught the attention of the Chinese organizers so much that they chose the building, which spans 2,000 square meters, among 24 pavilions for the official exhibition poster. There will also be a restaurant (serving exclusively Budweiser Budvar) and a souvenir shop.

Czech exhibition: It will consist of 22 large cubes featuring exhibits from artists who aim to present contemporary Czechia. There will also be a design exhibition, projections of highly acclaimed illustrations by Zdeněk Sklenář for The Monkey King, and an exhibition about Franz Kafka. Some regions will also be presented; previously, the Prague flood protection system with mobile barriers garnered success.
Czech Day at the Expo: May 17; around 150 musicians, dancers, and other artists will perform, including the National Theatre Ballet, Čechomor, Dan Bárta, Emil Viklický, the National Puppet Theatre, La Putyka, street theatre V.O.S.A., and more. The program will be guided (including in Chinese) by Spejbl and Hurvínek.

Some of the exhibits:
    - Giant Golden Tear (height 80 cm, width 50 cm) - the most-watched Czech exhibit; the installation LacrimAu, created by Federico Díaz, primarily works with human emotions; it connects human tears, possibly one of the few liquids that is not traded, with gold as a symbol of emotions, power, wars, and sorrow, and smell as one of the oldest senses.
    The tear will be encased in a glass cube, which only every 500th visitor to the pavilion will be allowed to enter. In a special chair, their reactions and emotions will be recorded while looking at the drop, and after evaluation, an automatic pipetting station will create a personal fragrance from various essences.
    The golden tear was much talked about in relation to the ton of gold that the Czech National Bank ultimately did not lend for its creation. Díaz had a backup solution; the gold for the exhibit was purchased by E-Invest.
    - Two bronze plaques from the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk on Charles Bridge - plaques that tourists touch for luck were removed from the bridge and loaned for half a year, during which the exhibition will last. One of the plaques represents the confession of Queen Sophie, while the other depicts the body of John of Nepomuk being thrown into the Vltava.
    - "Czechoscope" - a model airplane in which visitors can virtually fly over the most beautiful corners of Czechia.
    - "Czech Pearls" - 25 selected "pearls" or "wonders" will be available for viewers to observe in the form of a giant kaleidoscope. Included are Charles Bridge, ship screw, the word robot, Jára Cimrman, Czech architectural cubism, Vamberk lace, coronation jewels, contact lenses, Czech spa towns, animated film, Czech crystal and glass, as well as the world record of athlete Jarmila Kratochvílová in the 800 meters from 1983.