San Marino hosted a range of activities over two days to celebrate the country’s National Day at Expo 2020. The six-month long expo gives country pavilions an opportunity to celebrate their culture and achievements while showcasing the special features of their pavilion.
The San Marino pavilion highlighted the country’s unique attractions, treasures, natural resources and heritage elements.
“San Marino’s presence at Expo Dubai reinforces the country’s efforts to position itself as a resourceful country with must-see tourist destinations nestled within Northern Italy and easily accessible via key airports such as Rome and Bologna,” a statement said.
San Marino is an independent country founded more than 1,700 years ago with 33,000 inhabitants. Its pavilion, located in the Opportunity District, is dedicated to the replica of the “Treasure of Domagnano,” discovered in San Marino in the late 1800s. The most important piece of the treasure, the fibula, is now at Louvre Abu Dhabi. The pavilion tells the history and tradition of the country as well as its modern economic system based on tourism as well as on innovative companies.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, minister of tolerance and coexistence of the UAE and commissioner-general of Expo 2020 Dubai, represented the UAE as the host country at the formal ceremony.
The celebrations on Feb. 12 included the San Marino Flagwavers Show across different expo plazas (Arrival, Earth, Sea and Sun). The San Marino Crossbow Men’s Federation, an artistic ensemble founded in 1956 by Master Giuseppe Rossi, dressed in traditional medieval costumes, performed a historical commemoration of a typical medieval show.
This was followed by the San Marino Medalist Event at the San Marino Pavilion VIP Lounge to celebrate the first Olympic medals for a small country in the disciplines of fighting and shooting.
The official ceremony at Al-Wasl Plaza hosted by Expo 2020 Dubai was attended by delegations from San Marino and the UAE. The event included the flag raising ceremony and speeches by delegates from both San Marino delegates and the UAE. This was followed by performances by MSV + Giostremia and the Flagwavers Cultural Performers.
