Uganda stall at Shanghai expo pulls 18 million visitors
Oct 11, 2010
The spotlight at the ongoing Shanghai expo in China turned on the Uganda stall on Saturday as Ugandans at the show marked the 48th Independence Day with a brilliant display of the country’s abundant gifts and culture.
By David Mugabe in Shanghai China
The spotlight at the ongoing Shanghai expo in China turned on the Uganda stall on Saturday as Ugandans at the show marked the 48th Independence Day with a brilliant display of the country’s abundant gifts and culture.
The cultural performance by Ndere Troupe, pictures of the River Nile, mountain gorilla, a big rock representing the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountain ranges, the traditional huts and Makerere University and ‘Parliament’ were some of the highlights that captivated visitors to the Uganda site.
But it is the mountain gorilla, which is also a major cash cow for the tourism industry, that left a glowing memory in the visitors’ minds. The rare primate is not only displayed in several huge dummies stationed at the stall entrance, but also through a creative visa stamp that every guest visiting the Uganda stall gets on their passport. According to organisers, 18 million people had visited the Uganda pavilion by October 8. The expo opened six months ago.
“I hope you got a glimpse of our mountain gorillas, catalogue of existing investments and tasted our coffee,†asked Sarapio Rukundo, the tourism state minister, who led Chinese officials and hundreds of curious visitors around the Uganda exhibition tent.
Live Ugandan music by artists like Radio and Weasel and Jose Chameleone attracted the largely Asian and European visitors to the Ugandan pavillion, waving the black, yellow and red national flag colours.
The spotlight at the ongoing Shanghai expo in China turned on the Uganda stall on Saturday as Ugandans at the show marked the 48th Independence Day with a brilliant display of the country’s abundant gifts and culture.
The cultural performance by Ndere Troupe, pictures of the River Nile, mountain gorilla, a big rock representing the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountain ranges, the traditional huts and Makerere University and ‘Parliament’ were some of the highlights that captivated visitors to the Uganda site.
But it is the mountain gorilla, which is also a major cash cow for the tourism industry, that left a glowing memory in the visitors’ minds. The rare primate is not only displayed in several huge dummies stationed at the stall entrance, but also through a creative visa stamp that every guest visiting the Uganda stall gets on their passport. According to organisers, 18 million people had visited the Uganda pavilion by October 8. The expo opened six months ago.
“I hope you got a glimpse of our mountain gorillas, catalogue of existing investments and tasted our coffee,†asked Sarapio Rukundo, the tourism state minister, who led Chinese officials and hundreds of curious visitors around the Uganda exhibition tent.
Live Ugandan music by artists like Radio and Weasel and Jose Chameleone attracted the largely Asian and European visitors to the Ugandan pavillion, waving the black, yellow and red national flag colours.