Why the Dubai World’s Fair was so Unsettling
We were walking down one of the main thoroughfares in the Dubai Worlds Fair when the knot it my stomach started growing. “We” were a group of a dozen member leaders from the Entrepreneurs Organization who were in Dubai for an annual planning meeting. We took advantage of our day off to take in the Worlds Fair. I wasn’t all that keen on going, but others wanted to and I was happy tagging along with a group business leaders from around the world.
I didn’t know much (read: anything) about the fair. The only thing I know about any world fair is from what I remember from Expo ’86 in Vancouver. I was thirteen and had an annual pass. I’d go there during summer break with my friends and randomly roam the park. We weren’t allowed to bring our skateboards in unless we took off one of the wheels so we couldn’t ride inside the park. I’m not sure why they didn’t figure out a small socket wrench was all needed for an easy fix. I mean, why would a group of teenage boys want to walk though the fair carrying around skateboards with no wheels? Of course, why would teenage boys do most of they things do?
But, we had fun hanging out together and we’d pop into the occasional country’s pavilion, but none of us really understood the point of the fair.
Thirty-five years later in Dubai, I a similar experience. I had fun hanging out with my friends (lack of skateboards notwithstanding) but I still didn’t get the point. Actually, I felt unsettled. A few things seemed off to me.
- Most of the pavilions we went into made no sense to me. I just didn’t get the point. Perhaps I’m not artsy enough, open minded enough or futurist enough. I just didn’t get the point. In our little group there were people from 7 different countries (Canada, China, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, UK and USA) and we visited each of those pavilions. Aside from the standout Pakistan (which was excellent), It turned into a joke contest of who’s home country pavilion was the worst. Spoiler alert, it was the UK. Poor Charles was on the receiving end of relentless ridicule which he willingly accepted because even he openly admitted the pavilion left a little (er, a lot) to be desired.
- The fair’s website talked about sustainability and reusing 80% of the materials. I’m glad to hear it. But is it truly sustainable to build a 1,000 + acre fairground in a desert to then disassemble and ship elsewhere? I read an article online that even criticized the featured “sustainability building” saying its embodied (construction related) carbon footprint is twice the recommended level for a building of its size. (https://www.dezeen.com/2021/10/15/grimshaw-sustainability-pavilion-expo-2020-dubai-significant-unnecessary-emissions/).
- I don’t know how much it cost to assemble and put on the fair, but no doubt it’s well into the billions. I strolled around wondering how this money could have been better spent. I get the cost is offset by ticket sales and sponsorships. Maybe it’s even a money maker. I don’t know. But I couldn’t help but wonder how that money could have been used to help solve problems other than how to put on a fair in the middle of the desert. Again, the website talked about solving world problems, but maybe I was looking in the wrong direction, because I didn’t see problem solving as a key ingredient here.
The more I walked around, the more uncomfortable I got. It was hard to see past unnecessary spending and footprint. The grandiose nature of the event in a place that used to be open desert.
Then I stopped dead in my tracks.
I had a thought that bit into the hypocrisy of my judgments. Here I am, contributing my own time and money to the fair while being critical of their work. When, in reality, I should be questioning my own behaviour. What am I doing to help solve problems rather than walking around a fair in the middle of the desert? How big is my carbon footprint, having flown to Dubai from Vancouver for a meeting. How about the footprint of my own lifestyle? Is the work I put out in the world truly valuable and having an impact?
It’s been a persistent internal battle for a while now — what am I doing and am I doing enough? Am I contributing positively to this world or am I too busy focused on my own success? As I looked around the fair seeing unnecessary use of resources, I saw giant mirrors reflecting all my judgements back to my own life and my own behaviours. No doubt others could judge me on a singular scale just as much as I judged the show on a collective scale.
As I left the fair, I realized that just like when I was thirteen at Expo 86, I didn’t get the point of the expo. Also like when I was thirteen, the only part I really enjoyed was hanging out with my friends.
Unlike when I was thirteen, I walked away questioning my own behaviours and contributions. Ironically, maybe that’s the point of the fair. I image the organizers envisioned a different way of picking up the message. But just maybe, the fair was about challenging ourselves in how we show up in the world.
If others walked away with the same perspective, then maybe I did get the point.
