A brilliant fireworks display livens up the night of the opening ceremonies for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China, Friday night. (AP Photo/XINHUA)

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) – Tens of thousands of people crammed into the Shanghai World Expo on Saturday at the start of the six-month mass display of culture and technology seen as a showcase of China's growing economic might.

Organizers have said all 500,000 tickets are sold out for opening day at the massive Expo park along the Huangpu River, where visitors will wander through the exhibits of 189 nations, as well as dozens of companies and organizations.

“Everything is very colorful,” Cui Yan, a 23-year-old Chinese university student, told AFP outside the Mexican pavilion. “The architecture is amazing.”

“There are so many highlights – I'm worried I can't see all of them on this trip,” said Cui, who travelled from Ningbo, in neighboring Zhejiang province, to be one of the first to catch a glimpse of the eye-catching Expo pavilions.

A sea of people waited to visit China's red inverted pyramid – the centerpiece of Expo park – but queues were long at all pavilions. Signs outside the US and French venues said visitors faced a wait of four hours.

Eager visitors used umbrellas to shield themselves from the blistering Shanghai sun as they waited patiently, the long queues doing nothing to dampen their enthusiasm.

“I want to see the Canada pavilion first. So many of my relatives have emigrated to Canada and I want to get an idea of what kind of life they're living,” said 58-year-old female retiree Huang Huifang.

Shanghai kicked off the Expo on Friday night with a star-studded music and fireworks extravaganza, signaling it would be bigger and brighter than the more low-key World's Fairs in recent years.

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Hong Kong action film star Jackie Chan and Chinese pianist Lang Lang performed for thousands of guests including Chinese President Hu Jintao and about 20 other world leaders.

A record number of countries are participating in the event, which is expected to attract at least 70 million visitors -- the vast majority of them Chinese, many of whom have never travelled outside the country.

Li Huahe, a 47-year-old telecoms company employee from Urumqi in far-western Xinjiang – on the opposite end of the country from Shanghai – said he bought his ticket months ago but could only stay a few hours before heading home.

“I woke up at 5 a.m. and I have a 2 p.m. flight. I'm worried about the crowds. I want to see at least one pavilion today,” Li said outside the Swiss pavilion, which boasts a chairlift that soars over a three-story-high meadow.

Nations with an eye on China's consumer market of 1.3 billion people are pulling out all the stops to attract the attention of Expo visitors.

“I really hope people will discover the attitude of the Netherlands. We want to have friendly relations with China,” Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told AFP as he surveyed the grounds from the top of the “Happy Street” pavilion, which aims to capture the feel and creativity of Amsterdam.

Denmark has made a splash by bringing its “Little Mermaid” statue out of Copenhagen for the first time, France has impressionist paintings and India is bringing in a cast of Bollywood stars.

In Shanghai, the spotlight will be on the cutting-edge design of the national pavilions, all embracing the theme of “Better City, Better Life.”

RP pavilion
At the Philippine pavilion, Vice President Noli de Castro was on hand to inaugurate it. He was with Philippine Ambassador to China Francisco Benedicto during the Expo opening rites.

“We are introducing our country. Hindi lang sa Chinese kundi sa buong mundo. (Not only to the Chinese but the rest of the world) Kaya nga meron ditong tinatawag na Shanghai connection. (That is why we have what we call here our Shanghai connection) I read in your magazine (Style Weekend) that Maguindanao is not in Manila. Minsan kasi dateline Manila pero nangyari sa Mindanao. (Sometimes the (news) datelines are Manila but it happened in Mindanao) Para bang ang buong pilipinas nagkakagulo, puro basura, puro squatters. Hindi naman ganun. (It appears as though the whole country is in chaos, full of garbage and squatters, which is not the case) So, this is the best chance na maipapaliwanag natin sa buong mundo na ang Pilipinas ay magandang bansa (This is the best chance for us to show the whole world that the Philippines is a beautiful country), De Castro said.

The façade of the RP pavilion is adorned with a montage of hands. This highlights the country’s focus on performance that reflects the identity of Philippine cities. The interior displays interactive live performances, exhibitions, and video materials to reinforce the pavilions theme of “Performing Cities.”

“It is really the point of an expo to contribute to the fund of ideas in the world. What we believe is the genius of the Philippines is human relationships. We know about human relationships and human relationships are what makes our cities,” says Marian Roces, curator of the Philippine pavilion.

Our contingent to the exposition estimates the cost of production to about P416 million, P241 million allotted by the government and P175 million coming from private sponsors. However, this relatively large amount is appropriate considering the size of the 2,000 square meter pavilion. The cost per square meter is arguably cheaper than previous delegations to Aichi, Japan in 2005 and Zaragoza, Spain in 2008.

This year’s expo aims to outdo previous events by going on a scale never before done for such a congregation. A total of 242 participants, 191 countries, and 51 international organizations will showcase exhibitions, events, and forums at the expo which will last for six months from May 1 until October 31, 2010.

The expo expects over 70 million attendees for the event hoping to break the world expo record for attendance figure of 64 million, which was set in 1970 in Osaka, Japan. The figure, when broken down, projects a daily turnout of 500,000 visitors. The Philippine pavilion alone expects over 45,000 visitors per day.