Spectacular fireworks explode over the Huangpu River during the opening ceremony for the 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai, east China, April 30, 2010.(Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
SHANGHAI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Expo is about inviting the world to China to communicate and share, the opening ceremony's artistic director, Ignatius Jones, believes.
"Being able to host an expo means Shanghai has a certain level of infrastructure. And hosting the expo is a symbol of being a global city. But the expo is about more than just showcasing. It is a chance to invite the world to China for communicating and sharing," said Jones, sporting a pink t-shirt.
Jones directed the fireworks show at the expo's opening ceremony on April 30.
Jones, from David Atkins Enterprises (DAE), said his team tried to make the opening ceremony both Chinese and international, as the expo is a gathering of the world' s cities.
"It should be obviously Chinese but also international," he said.
Jones's team started studying Chinese culture before it bid for the project. "It should be China's show, not our show," he said.
Jones said his team did much research on Chinese culture, expos, on modern China and Western conceptions of China. Then they worked very closely with their client to decide the messages they wanted to convey.
