(ANSA)- Rome, April 17 - As the inauguration on May 1 of the
food-themed Universal Exposition in Milan draws nearer, a number
of world leaders have confirmed they will attend the event and
Expo chief Giuseppe Sala has said organizers are hoping to draw
United States First Lady Michelle Obama.
"With all due respect for President Obama...we aim for a
visit from his wife," Sala told State broadcaster RAI on
Thursday.
"I bet she'll be the one to show up".
British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President
Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Russian
President Vladimir Putin are among the world leaders who said
they will be attending Expo at some point before it wraps up on
October 31.
The world's fair, which runs under the banner Feeding the
Planet, Energy for Life, is expected to draw between 20 and 25
million visitors from Italy and around the world.
And a survey released on Thursday showed the majority of
foreign visitors will be hailing from the United States, some
56%.
The other most-represented nationalities will reportedly be
Germany, Spain and Great Britain, as well as Italy, according to
the survey carried out by online travel agency Kayak.it.
The majority of visitors, including Italians, will
reportedly be staying at a four-star hotel in Italy's financial
capital for an average of three to four days.
Hotel reservations in Milan for the month of May alone went
up 55%, according to the survey.
Visitors will be traveling with an average of two other
people and mostly landing at Milan's Malpensa international
airport, according to Kayak.it.
Tourists will be visiting from around the world to attend
an event which sees the overall participation of over 140
countries and hosts a record 53 single-nation pavilions.
Some nine million tickets have already been sold for Expo,
a third of them outside Italy, the event's organizers said.
And some 500,000 are expected from Brazil, the Italian
foreign ministry's Secretary-General Michele Valensise said
Thursday during a visit to Brasilia, where he was attending the
fourth Italy-Brazil cooperation council.
The "important event confirmed the potential and strength
of ties between Italy and Brazil", said Valensise, who met with
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
France is vying to be a major attraction at Expo with its
3,600-square-meter pavilion presented on Thursday, which will be
baking fresh baguettes daily as well as hosting its most famous
sommeliers who will be offering a superb selection of wines.
The 'café de chef' on the second floor will entice visitors
with French gastronomy through tastings and events on the
science and art behind French cuisine.
Overall, out of the roughly 20 million visitors expected at
the event, an estimated five to six million will be travelling
by train, Italy's state-run railways said this week.
And the railway network will increase capacity ahead of
Expo to be able to offer as many as 130,000 seats a day on
national and international routes, State Railways (FS) Managing
Director Michele Mario Elia said.
Standards at stations across the country will be improved,
including provision of wifi access and a dedicated web space on
services and news, he said.
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