Nation Branding and World Expos

The 2019 edition of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Bulletin, titled Image of a Nation: Country branding at World Expos, features the work of CPD Director Jay Wang and CPD Faculty Fellow Nicholas J. Cull.

This year's BIE Bulletin (available digitally here) highlights the explicit connection between world expos and public diplomacy, bringing together academics and practitioners to offer rich insights into nation branding through the prism of expo pavilions.

"World Expos are more than a platform for nations to promote their cultures and innovations; it is a stage for public engagement on a grand, global scale," writes Wang. "They are by design to provide a mind-expanding experience to the broader public through real-world encounters, and are hence an important element of a nation’s public diplomacy effort."

Contributions include the following chapters by public diplomacy thought leaders, leading scholars and emerging voices:

• Public diplomacy through Expos: The nine commandments for Expo pavilions (Nicholas J. Cull)

• Experience marketing in building the image of Expo participants (Marcin Gębarowski)

• Nation branding and World Expos (Jay Wang)

• The whole is greater than the sum of its parts: Conveying an (inter)national image of World Expos (Silvio Carta)

• ‘A multifaceted diamond’ out of steel: Exhibiting the European Communities at Expo 1967 (Anastasia Remes)

• Nothing but nation building: Promoting Japan’s national image at early Expos (Mayuko Sano)

• Algeria and the world of Expos: a happy encounter (Mohamed Bensalem)

• National image and the Expo Movement: The experience of Azerbaijan (Anar Alakbarov)

• China’s country branding at Expos (Jinzhen Wang)

• Malaysia: The confluence of heritage, diversity and progress (Mohd Azhar bin Hj. Yahaya)

• New Zealand through the lens of Expos 1970-2020 (Nicola Garvey)

• Showcasing a rich and diverse nation: Pakistan at Expos (Moin-Ud-Din Ahmad Wani)

• Expos: A nation branding platform for Switzerland (Presence Switzerland)

• The century and a half journey of Thailand's branding at Expos: Unveiling intriguing stories across the last decade (Kreingkrai Kanjanapokin)

Download the full publication here.

Check out select CPD content about world expos here.

Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) is the intergovernmental organization in charge of overseeing and regulating World Expos, since 1931. The Bulletin is an annual publication that has been produced by the BIE since 1996. The Bulletin features a selection of articles written by internationally renowned experts selected by the BIE. Each edition focuses on a specific theme or issue arising from International Expos, with the articles offering the reader an insightful and thought-provoking analysis of the issue at stake. Learn more about BIE here.