SAUDI ARABIA last month inaugurated its state-of-the-art pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, kicking off a six-month World Expo experience that will take visitors from across the world on a journey through the kingdom’s rich past, vibrant present, and promising future.

The journey showcases a future-forward Saudi Arabia: welcoming, young, diverse, and vibrant. The pavilion represents the Saudi people, ambitious and talented individuals across different sectors, powering the kingdom’s transformation under Vision 2030, according to a spokesman for the pavilion.

Across business opportunity and tourism, culture and nature, Saudi Arabia has much to offer throughout its 13 unique regions – including five Unesco World Heritage Sites – and the pavilion enables visitors to get a first glimpse of a fascinating destination that has yet to be discovered, he added.

The pavilion’s inauguration was attended by Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for Saudi Arabia’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai;  Turki Aldakhil, Saudi Ambassador to the UAE; Hussain Hanbazazah, the Commissioner-General of KSA pavilion; and GCC countries’ ambassadors, and officials and cultural figures from around the world.

The delegation was briefed on Saudi Arabia’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, anchored by four key pillars: People, Opportunity, Heritage, and Nature. They also had the chance to see how the state-of-the-art building fuses architecture with digital technology.

The dignitaries were among the first to experience the pavilion’s 14 cultural landmarks along a stunning escalator ride, including acclaimed Unesco World Heritage Sites such as At-Turaif District in Ad-Diriyah, Hegra Archaeological Site in AlUla, and Historic Jeddah.

The briefing featured an introduction to the audiovisual guide, through which guests can explore 23 destinations such as world-leading giga-projects that are rewriting the possibilities of sustainable development. The visit concluded with a peek of a trail through Saudi Arabia’s stunning nature.

The Saudi pavilion, the second largest after the UAE’s, is one of the most sustainable structures at Expo 2020 Dubai. It has been awarded LEED version 4 Platinum rating from the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the highest internationally recognised sustainability rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

The pavilion has earned three Guinness World Records for the largest interactive lighting floor, the longest interactive water feature, and the largest LED interactive digital mirror screen.