The government will decide on Czech participation in the Expo in Italy only in the autumn

Prague - The decision regarding the Czech participation in the next World Expo 2015 in Italy is being delayed and is likely to be made only in the autumn, predicts the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are currently preparing material for the government, which could discuss the country's presence at the cultural Olympics of nations in October or November, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in response to inquiries from ČTK. According to them, however, the exact date is not determined.
     Initially, it was expected that the response to the Italian invitation would be clear by this month. The Chief of Czech diplomacy, Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09), stated in February that he would like to see the Czech Republic participate in Expo 2015.
     The upcoming exhibition in Milan will have the slogan "Feed the Planet, Energy for Life." The Italians sent an invitation to Prague in January. "The concept of our potential participation will likely be based on the fundamental theme," previously stated the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vít Kolář.
     The previous Expo 2010 in Shanghai was successful for the Czech Republic. The Czech pavilion, full of design elements, was among the most visited during the six-month exhibition. The building, clad in white and dotted with breaks, and its unconventional internal technological experiences received several awards.
     It is still unclear how much the government would allocate for the presentation in Italy. "Preliminary estimates based on experiences from previous participations in Expo speak of around 300 million crowns," Kolář predicts.
     The Shanghai event cost the Czech state around half a billion; according to information from ČTK, the office for Czech participation managed to save 30.3 million, and from commercial activities, it gained additional income of 61 million crowns. For the advertising space for the Czech Republic, generated from media outputs and Chinese reporting on the Czech cultural pavilion, the country would normally have to pay Chinese media around 235 million crowns.