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As Expo 2020 Dubai comes to an end, excitement will still continue once the baton will be passed to Osaka for its Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai in just three years.

As Expo 2020 Dubai looks to the future, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Commissioner General of Expo 2020 Dubai, will hand the BIE Flag to Ambassador Jai-chul Choi, President of the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), who will then present it to representatives of Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai.

March 31 will mark the closing of the UAE’s expo, with many events and gigs scheduled all evening, ensuring it goes out with a bang.

Lined up for the closing ceremony are global music icons Christina Aguilera, Norah Jones and Yo-Yo Ma, who will perform at the Al Wasl Dome, the same venue where the memorable Opening Ceremony took place 182 days ago.

The ceremony will be displayed on 20 giant screens across the Expo 2020 Dubai site. The celebration will continue into the night, with full headline concerts from each artist across Jubilee Stage and Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre.

The evening will begin at 1900 GST with the young Emirati girl from the Opening Ceremony taking the audience on another compelling journey. For 182 days, she has grown, learned and connected with people from around the world – what remains is the final step before she awakens to her full potential.

The audience beneath Al Wasl’s awe-inspiring dome – home to the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface – will also put the focus on the next generation, as Expo exclusively invites hundreds of children from across the UAE to witness the wonders as the country looks to the next 50 years, having celebrated its Golden Jubilee during Expo 2020 Dubai.

Later in the evening, Grammy-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma will play a concert at Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre from 2045 GST; celebrated Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and pianist Norah Jones will entertain visitors with her own concert on the Jubilee Stage from 2100 GST; and pop legend Christina Aguilera will present an extended performance on the Jubilee Stage from 2245 GST. 

The cast of the Closing Ceremony includes more than 400 professionals and volunteers from 56 different countries, with 745 costumes created for the culmination of Expo 2020 Dubai. Forty members of a UAE-based children’s choir will perform Ishy Bilady, the National Anthem of the UAE, joined by the all-women Firdaus Orchestra, conducted by Yasmina Sabbah.  

Also taking the stage will be the Expo 2020 World String Ensemble, a group of 16 talented international musicians led by maestro Harout Fazlian, and talented Italian pianist Eleonora Constantini, familiar to many Expo 2020 Dubai visitors as the performer behind the amazing Flying Piano show at Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion.

The Closing Ceremony, streamed live on Virtual Expo and Expo TV, will also remind audiences of some of Al Wasl Plaza’s iconic moments, including calligraphy poetry in the sky from Emirati poetess Ousha bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi; the falcon from immersive theatrical show Journey of the 50^th, which was presented during the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations; and the incredible horse from The Boy and The Horse, a tribute to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The celebrations will continue throughout the night, with more jaw-dropping fireworks displays at midnight and 0300 GST.  

March 31 is expected to be one of the busiest days at Expo 2020 Dubai and visitors are advised to arrive early to make the most of the site-wide entertainment and activities.