On February 8, the first group of guests -- Wayne Scott (head of the Canadian delegation to the BIE) and Paul Bisson (manager of Canada Pavilion Development and Operations) -- arrived at the Expo planning exhibition hall, located in the first floor of the World Expo Mansion. 

Accompanied by staff from the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, the Canadian guests visited the Expo Shanghai planning model in the exhibition hall and asked about interested issues such as the transport methods in the Expo zones. Then, the participation affairs negotiation group of Expo Shanghai received the Canadian guests and the two sides exchanged ideas on detailed constructing and participating questions. This is the first technical negotiation on the participation contracts and it marks the official launching of the participation contracts negotiation of Expo Shanghai.

Canada confirmed its participation in April 2006, among the first group of countries to confirm their participations. This time, the Canadian delegates, based on the Participation Guide of Expo Shanghai and practical requirements of Canada, prepared nearly 200 questions ranging from designing requirements of the pavilion and traffic flow to the price of water, electricity, gas as well as the banking and accommodation services. The negotiation group answered all the questions in detail.

The 6,000 square meters Canadian pavilion will be located in zone C, to the west of Pudong Lupu Bridge. From the beginning of the negotiation, the Canadian delegates illustrated a wonderful blueprint of the Canadian national pavilion–they want to build outdoor stages near the pavilion because there will be distinctive cultural performances; they will also design comfortable spaces and rich activities for visitors to enjoy while waiting to enter the pavilion, etc.

Besides the national pavilion, the Canadian delegates are also concerned with accommodation and transport issues. The negotiation group promised that the organizer would try to meet demands of participants and visitors of various levels as much as possible. For example, the Expo Village will have accommodations of different standards with the same high quality for participants. Moreover, various hotels in Shanghai will also provide various services. Since market demands for hotels would greatly increase during the Expo, relevant departments would take certain measures to solve it.

Staff from both parties was energetic and discussed important issues in detail although the negotiation took a whole day. Constructive results were achieved through the negotiation. Zhou Hanmin, deputy director general of the bureau, noted, "The objective of both China and Canada is to help with a 'successful, splendid and unforgettable' world Expo. One of the important tasks of the bureau is to assist participating parties to prepare for the Expo. The relationship of the two parties is equal and friendly. The negotiation for the participation contract is the chance for the participants and organizers to communicate effective and to understand each others' needs."

Wayne Scott was very satisfied with the detailed and complete answers from the organizers of Expo Shanghai. He noted that the organizers put in a lot of efforts into the Expo and he confirmed his belief that the Expo Shanghai would become the most wonderful one in the Expo history. Moreover, he also hoped that the Canadian national pavilion would become the most excellent pavilion.

The procedure for countries or international organizations to confirm their participations in the Expo is the following. First they need to be invited and then confirm participations. The participating sides would assign delegates general and the delegates general would submit "theme statement" and "exhibition application". Then, the delegate would start technical negotiation about the participating conditions with the organizers before signing the participation contract. The final stage is to construct the pavilion and prepare the exhibition.

This is the first participation contract negotiation for Expo Shanghai. Meetings like this will be held continuously in the next three years. The organizers and participants will certainly work together for a harmonious, cheerful and exciting Expo.