The Foreign Service Journal, October 2015

46 OCTOBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL In Milan, the U.S. pavilion’s open-wall structure and green design, informative messaging and personable staff impressed. As in Shanghai, President Obama’s life-size video message was a hit. COURTESYOFMATTHEWASADA The United States has hosted 20 major and minor fairs, the first in 1853 in New York City. as opposed to American, investing in their own stand-alone, corporate exhibits rather than in the U.S. pavilion. There was also concern that expenditures would be misdirected to BIE. Despite efforts by U.S. Ambassador to Germany John Korn- blum and U.S. Commissioner General William Rollnick, and personal requests from German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to President Bill Clinton, the U.S. pavilion was unable to raise suf- ficient private or public funds to participate in Hannover. It was the first fair that the United States had missed since they began in 1851. The German government, fair attendees and other par- ticipating countries noticed the U.S. absence. One German state legislator remarked, “Many Germans see this as part of a larger pattern. The feeling is that always when it comes to multinational efforts, the United States has no money.” The Rest of the World Steps up Engagement Meanwhile, the rest of the world was stepping up its engage- ment. Participants no longer viewed the events as industrial trade fairs, but as opportunities to present their foreign policies and brand their countries, promote cultural understanding and address global challenges. Japan spent $3.3 billion to host Expo Aichi 2005, the theme of which was “Nature’s Wisdom.” The expo drew 121 participating countries and 22 million visitors. The United States, however, had a limited pavilion due to its ongoing funding challenges. One year before Expo Shanghai 2010, it looked as though the United States might miss out again on the opportunity to present a first-class showing, or any showing for that matter. However, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it a personal priority to secure U.S. participation in the fair. Ultimately, the Secretary and Commissioner General Jose Villarreal succeeded in raising more than $61 million for the U.S. pavilion and organizing participa- tion in a record-breaking nine months. While some criticized the reliance on corporate sponsors and their resultant influence on exhibit content, the United States made it to Shanghai. China spent $48 billion on the 2010 fair, more money than it spent on the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Its theme was “Better City, Better Life.” With 190 countries participating and 73 million visitors, Shanghai broke Osaka’s 1970 attendance record. More than 7.3 million visitors came through the U.S. pavil- ion; most were Chinese nationals, many of whom had never been to, nor would probably ever visit, the United States. Secretary of State John Kerry similarly prioritized U.S. par- ticipation in the 2015 World’s Fair in Milan, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.”The United States expected three to five million of the fair’s total 25 to 30 million visitors to visit the U.S. pavilion during the fair’s six months of operation. Organizational Architecture behind the U.S. Pavilion The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs assumed responsibility for U.S. participation in world’s fairs after the 1999 merger of USIA with the Department of State. At that time, USIA disbanded its five-person office that had been responsible for developing exhibit content, managing relations with the BIE and providing logistical support for the pavilion itself. For Milan, in a first for U.S. government expo-logistics prep, ECA delegated oversight authority to a regional bureau, the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Barry Levin, a retired Foreign Service officer who had worked on the smaller Expo Yeosu 2012, handled initial preparations for Milan. The pavilion