USA PAVILION AT A GLANCEMilan, January 2013

American Chamber of Commerce in italy

USA Pavilion at a glance

• Expo Milan 2015 (http://en.expo2015.org) – WORLD FAIRExpo 2015 is the universal exhibitions which will be held in Milan from May 1st October 31st 2015. It will host 141 countries, it will be visited by 20-30 million visitors (9-16 of whom will be from abroad - non-Italian), plus 20% of repeat visits. The theme of Expo 2015 is “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life”, it will address the challenges around food and its supply with all the related innovations, and also showcase all the aspects of food: the knowledge, the taste, the pleasure and its future sustainability.

The USA Pavilion at ExpoDifferently from other countries, the United States Government is not allowed to provide federal funding for participating in international expositions abroad. In order to allow USA to participate to Expo 2015 the US Government published an RFP - as it was for the previous editions of Expo in Aichi and Shanghai - to find the financial resources, design, build, manage and dismantle the US Pavilion at Expo 2015. Upon request of Ambassador David H. Thorne - Senior Advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry, former US Ambassador to Italy and our Honorary President - AmCham, together with the International Culinary Center and the James Beard Foundation, participated in the Request for Proposal issued by the State Department and won. Currently, AmCham is closely working with the US State Department, Ambassador Thorne, and the US Ambassador to Italy John R. Phillips to secure the 45 million dollars necessary to deliver the whole project (designing, building, managing, and dismantling the pavilion).

The USA Pavilion – the exhibitionThe pavilion will showcase what the USA is doing to ensure healthy and sustainable feeding to Americans and to the world population at large. This will be done thanks to the experience and the activities of American corporations, which are renowned to be at the forefront of innovation and technologies. Companies throughout the whole food value chain will shows their activities, from high productive farming and fertilizer production, to waste management and sustainability practice (e.g. soft drinks companies raising attention to lifestyle habits).

The USA Pavilion - an opportunity for American companiesExpo is a multilayer event which provides important opportunities for companies. At the same time it is a B2C, B2B and government affairs event. B2C event, with 20-30 million people visiting the site, 1 billion virtual visitors and thousands events within the Expo area and around the city of Milan, Expo is an incredible opportunity for companies to gain visibility (partner companies will be able to showcase through the pavilion their activities, innovations, technologies, etc.). The Pavilion is made of seven key components: Main Pavilion, Food Truck Nation, American Food & Drink, Cultural Programming, Student Ambassadors, Social & Digital Media Experience, and Learning Beyond Milan (see attached documents for more information). For each one of these components companies will have the opportunity to showcase their activities/products/services according to their specific expertise. B2B event, the USA pavilion will be a platform open for business for partner companies to organize customized events for their clients/suppliers/partners, to meet with companies involved in Expo or other pavilions, to host business delegations coming from the 141 participant countries. Government affairs opportunity, the pavilion will be the official representation of the US Government at Expo and a diplomatic tool where to handle the several dialogues among USA and EU/Italy. Companies can leverage this institutional environment to develop and strengthen relationships with the governments of the 141 participant countries, with US and Italian governments, and with European Institutions. Furthermore, Expo will be a fundamental stage for US firms affected by issues currently under discussion of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to influence the discussion and engage regulators.

Next StepsWe are looking forward to meet companies interested in exploring opportunities of involvement in the USA pavilion and to open technical tables to discuss the details of tailored-made sponsorships.