Entertainers celebrate during a parade in the World Expo Park in Shanghai, China, 31 October 2010. The Shanghai World Expo transformed the city with a US$44 billion makeover of roads, subway lines and its riverside Bund and was celebrated with traditional songs and dance when it closed late Sunday (31 October 2010). The six-month event attracted 73.1 million visitors, topping the record of 64 million set in Osaka, Japan, in 1970. Campaigns against spitting, littering and wearing pajamas in public burnished Shanghais image, as the 2008 Summer Olympics helped boost Beijing. The exhibition, with pavilions from about 200 nations and regions from the U.S. to North Korea, may lift growth in Chinas richest city to more than 8.5 percent this year, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences estimates. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao declared the closure of the Expo at a ceremony with music and traditional dances performed by more than 4, 000 people including martial artist Jackie Chan. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne were among those who visited the Expo. After winning hosting rights in 2002, Shanghai allotted 28.6 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) for construction and operating costs and 270 billion yuan for infrastructure, including two airport terminals and a three-year renovation of The Bund. Last year, Shanghais economy grew 8.2 percent, the slowest pace in 18 years.
