Canada unveiled its national pavilion design created by Cirque du Soleil as it inked the participation deal with the organizers last week.

The pavilion, about the size of two-and-a-half NHL ice hockey rinks, is expected to welcome up to 5.5 million people or 30,000 visitors per day during the six-month Expo period.

The budget for the 6,000-square-meter Canada Pavilion will be 45 million Canadian dollars (US$43.57 million).

The pavilion will have three big structures in an anomalous shape. The outside wall will be covered by a special kind of greenery to reduce the temperature inside the pavilion.

The three manufacturers will be connected with a big square, on which Cirque du Soleil will bring their amazing performances to entertain visitors when they are queuing to enter the pavilion.

Cirque du Soleil created the concept design for the Canada Pavilion.

Canada is still seeking contractors for its architectural services, constructions and technical operations. Public tendering is being processed by Canadian Heritage.

Cirque du Soleil will also create public performances, organize cultural programs and develop strategic corporate alliances for the pavilion.

The troupe made its debut on the Chinese mainland last summer, bringing the Quidam show to Shanghai, its only stop in China.

Cirque du Soleil was founded by Guy Laliberte, a member of a ragtag band of street performers from the Canadian province of Quebec in 1984.

The entertainment troupe now employs about 3,000 people on three continents and takes in about US$400 million in revenues annually.

(Shanghai Daily January 28, 2008)