Clayton Kimpton, New Zealand Commissioner-General to Expo 2020 talks about Expo 2020 Dubai. / Jason Oxenham / Dean Purcell
New Zealand's $50 million push at Expo 2020 has attracted more sponsors in spite of the Dubai event being postponed for a year.
The New Zealand organisation announced this morning that more Kiwi brands have joint the "Care Collective" family of sponsors.
Joining the collective are Comvita, Abodo, Caroma,Citta, David Trubridge, Method Recycling, Methven, Scion and Skope Industries.
The world's biggest business gathering was expected to attract 25 million visitors to the massive Expo 2020 Dubai site for six months from October but participating nations have voted to delay opening for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
New Zealand had budgeted $54m for participating and the delay will add as-yet unfinalised costs to the programme.
Commissioner general to the expo Clayton Kimpton said the new businesses rounded out a group of well-known companies that would showcase New Zealand innovation.
It brings the total of sponsors and suppliers to 21. Others include Fonterra, Air New Zealand, Kaynemaile architectural mesh, Zespri, Mr Apple, Shadowspec Umbrellas, Gallagher, Toitū Environment, noho, Resident, Tim Webber Design and Moffat.
New Zealand's theme for Expo 2020 is Care for People and Place based on the ethos of kaitiakitanga - the connection between people and the envenomed.
What the NZ pavilion will look like. Image / Supplied
The 2000sq m New Zealand pavilion features a visitor experience, a restaurant showcasing this country's food and beverage.
The Expo site is about 40 minutes out of the centre of Dubai in an equivalent area to 440 football pitches.
Kimpton has previously said, in spite of uncertainty over attitudes to travel towards the end of next year when it is now scheduled, expo organisers had decided to push ahead based on what was known now.
New Zealand has leveraged expos in the past at pivotal times in its economic history.
Osaka, in 1970, gave the country the opportunity to promote meat exports to a wider range of countries as Britain was getting closer to Europe.
An event at Shanghai in 2010 came at a good time as the world was emerging from the global financial crisis and New Zealand was bedding in its free-trade pact with China.
Construction progress on the site of the Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo / Jason Oxenham
