Paul Brandt to represent Alberta to the World - Edmonton Day to showcase EXPO 2017 bid

Edmonton will take centre stage for Edmonton Day celebrations in the Canada Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China. Edmonton Day will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010.

“This is a prime opportunity for us to showcase what Edmonton and Alberta have to offer the world, as well as to highlight why Edmonton is the best choice to host EXPO 2017,” says Tony Franceschini, Co-Chair of the EXPO 2017 Bid Committee.

Edmonton Day will feature an evening reception that will showcase the EXPO bid, Alberta entertainers and Alberta beef. Entertainers scheduled to perform include the Harpe Jazz Trio, an Edmonton-based trio that fuses the spontaneity of jazz improvisation with infectious global rhythms, and Alberta-born Country Music star Paul Brandt, who is the most awarded male Canadian Country artist in history. To attend Edmonton Day, Brandt will take time off from recording two new albums and his pre-production schedule of an upcoming television series called "Build It Forward", all slated for release in 2011.

“I’m honoured and excited to be representing my home province of Alberta in Edmonton’s bid for Expo”, said Brandt, “We’re all hoping that the entire world will be ‘Alberta Bound’ in 2017.”

Guests invited include representatives from nations who are part of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) and currently have pavilions at the Shanghai Expo. Other guests will include representatives from the Government of China and the Shanghai business community.

Since May’s announcement of support from the Government of Alberta the Edmonton EXPO 2017 team is focusing on securing support from the Government of Canada. The team also continues to work on the international bid which will be submitted to the BIE in June 2011. Energy and Our Planet has been chosen as the theme.

“We want to facilitate a global discussion on this critical issue, as well as challenge people around the world to think about energy differently,” Franceschini says. “We want people to think about energy in the broadest sense including human, intellectual, creative and other kinds of energy.”

To learn more about Edmonton’s bid to host EXPO 2017 visit www.edmontonexpo2017.ca.