The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) welcomes the registration today of the 2015 World Expo in neighbouring Italy by the BIE and congratulates the organisers of Expo 2015 Milan on this major event. This category A world exhibition will be located in the municipalities of Pero and Rho, north-west of Milan, from 1 May to 31 October 2015 and will have as its main theme: "Feeding the planet, energy for life".

In May 2010, the Federal Council announced that Switzerland would participate at the 2015 World Expo in Milan and, at the same time, assigned responsibility for the management of the Swiss pavilion to the FDFA. Presence Switzerland (PRS), which is part of the FDFA General Secretariat. has managed Switzerland's official participation in world exhibitions since 2001 and has many years' experience in organising and staging such events.

World exhibitions are important business and presentation platforms for Switzerland abroad, and perform an essential function in promoting the international location: Switzerland. For political, economic and cultural reasons, the Federal Council attaches high importance to the Swiss pavilion at the 2015 World Expo in Italy. Interested cantons and the private sector will also be able to benefit from Switzerland's presence at the expo. PRS will carry out an image study before it proceeds with the concept phase of the Swiss pavilion at the 2015 World Expo, as it did in preparation for the world exhibitions in Japan in 2005 and China in 2010.

After it has submitted its official registration to the Italian expo organisation, PRS will advertise an invitation to tender bids for the concept of the Swiss pavilion. The budget for the project is expected to be set in 2012 by the Federal Assembly.

Currently, the preparations are in progress for the next category B world exhibition, which will take place in 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea.

For further information, please contact:

Clelia Kanai, Presence Switzerland (PRS),
Team Marketing and Communication,
Major International Events
Tel. +41 31 322 56 92

As the part of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs responsible for promoting Switzerland's image abroad, Presence Switzerland implements the Confederation's strategy on Switzerland's communication abroad.

The aims of Switzerland's communication abroad are to increase knowledge about Switzerland and its international visibility, portray the diversity of Swiss society and its political life as a unified whole as a means to raising Switzerland's profile abroad and strengthening its position in the global competition for investment, visitors and exports.

The basis of all Presence Switzerland's activities is "Brand Switzerland", which defines the main messages about Switzerland that Presence Switzerland communicates and specifies Switzerland's visual presentation abroad.

Switzerland to participate at Expo 2015 in Milan