H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson celebrate the Swedish spirit of innovation at Expo 2010

This year marks 60 years of Sino-Swedish diplomatic relations and is commemorated both in China and Sweden. During the Swedish national pavilion day at the Expo, May 23rd, the Swedish openness and innovation will be celebrated together with high profile visits from H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson. - The Swedish participation and this pavilion represent the largest combined effort of Swedish public and private interests in a project abroad. It is my sincere hope that this pavilion will be an important platform for further strengthening the relations between China and Sweden, says Maud Olofsson. May 23 is the Swedish National pavilion day at Expo. It will start off with a flag raising ceremony at the Expo Centre in the presence of the King and Maud Olofsson, together with Chinese representatives. The rest of the day will contain visits to the Swedish and Chinese pavilions, as well as the Chinese Private Enterprise Pavilion. The cultural program features Swedish pop band Those Dancing Days from Stockholm, Swedish-Samian singer/songwriter Sofia Jannok and a fashion dance performance choreographed by Jin Xing. Jin Xing is a famous Chinese dancer and choreographer who was born a man and later became one of the few trans gender women officially recognized by the Chinese Government. Jin Xing’s dancers will perform wearing clothes from successful Swedish designers such as Ann Sofie Back, Sandra Backlund, Martin Bergström, Nakkna, Diana Orving and Göran Sundberg, to music composed by Swedish artists Andreas Kleerup and Anders Unge. During May 24, His Majesty the King and Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson will attend two roundtable forums with Chinese and Swedish business representatives, where topics such as innovation and sustainability will be discussed. In the afternoon, they will take part in the Spirit of Innovation Forum. All forums this day are organized by Invest in Sweden and Vinnova, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems. This is the King’s third visit to China. The first time was in 1981, when he visited the Chinese government, and the second time was in July 2006, when the Swedish East Indiaman "Götheborg" arrived to Guangzhou in Canton after nine months at sea. For further information, please contact: Maria Warren, PR and Communications maria.warren@expo2010.se +86 1582 1591 029 Anna Rygård, Program Director anna.rygard@expo2010.se +46 (0) 706 42 66 44, + 86 150 2136 0928. Björn Cappelin, Protocol Manager bjorn.cappelin@expo2010.se +86 158 2150 5726