Expo 2020 Dubai celebrates an emotional closing ceremony

The curtain will come down on Expo 2020 Dubai on Thursday 31 March 2022. And the spectacular final show will feature performances by Christina Aguilera, Norah Jones and Yo-Yo Ma. The Ceremony will provide a fitting end to the six-month event, which has brought the world together in the hope of a better future for all.

The impressive Closing Ceremony event, hosted in the iconic Al-Wasl dome, will also feature a variety of local and regional talent. The audience will enjoy a showcase of spectacular images, music and performances, reminding everyone of the journey we have taken together throughout Expo 2020 Dubai.

The world has been obsessed with Expo 2020 Dubai since it raised the curtain six months ago in spectacular fashion and, as the sun sets on the most diverse World Expo in the event's history, it will do so with an explosion of jubilation and celebration. 

While the official closing ceremony at Al-Wasl Plaza from 19:00 to 20:00 GST is reserved for 'VIP guests' made up of school children aged seven to nine, the Expo 2020 Dubai site will be a hive of energy and pulsating excitement from the moment the gates open at 10:00 GST on 31 March, until the final closing at 03:00 GST on 1 April.

Having staged more than 30,000 events at 96 locations across the Expo 2020 Dubai site, including 3,000 at Al-Wasl Plaza and more than 500 for children and families, the closing ceremony will be a moment of triumph tinged with sadness that will tug at the heartstrings of all who have visited.

Amna Abulhoul, executive creative director of Expo 2020 Dubai, said: "As the event reaches its final chapter, we will highlight all that we have achieved over the past six months and celebrate all those who made it possible. This is a time to reflect on those things that are most important to us. Before our souls leave this earth, our lives pass before us and we will relive some of the most important moments of Expo 2020 Dubai." "We started with the sunrise when the Expo opened, and the closing ceremony is the sunset. But, this is not the end; it is the beginning of something new," she said.

Tareq Ghosheh, Expo 2020 Director of Events and Entertainment, said: "Children from public and private schools who have been active participants, artists, contributors and innovators will be our VIP guests because they are the generation of the future who will carry the legacy of Expo 2020 Dubai forward. We are empowering tomorrow's leaders".

Kate Randall, Vice President, Ceremonies and Programming, Events and Entertainment, Expo 2020 Dubai said: "The starting point for the closing ceremony was to think about what Expo 2020 Dubai has meant to everyone and what it has delivered. No one competes and there are no barriers. The Sea of Nations segment, where we call all the countries back into space with their flags from their National Day celebrations, is a beautiful moment and one to look out for".

There will be many pivotal moments that will bring the Expo 2020 Dubai experience to life in a series of flashbacks. From 'Journey of the 50' (Expo 2020 Dubai's Golden Jubilee Show) and highlights from 'Boy and the Horse', to capturing children splashing around in surreal mode and families and friends connecting with each other, it promises to be a poignant journey through some of the most evocative and transcendent moments of Expo 2020 Dubai.

Throughout the evening, there will be three fireworks displays from various locations, beginning during the final minutes of the closing ceremony, followed by one at 23:55 GST and culminating with the third and final one at 03:00 GST, with each choreographed sparkler dancing with gusto across the sky.

Text, photos and video: Expo Dubai 2020