HANOVER, Germany -- From the steps of the brand-new subway station built just for Expo 2000 as part of the city's multibillion-dollar face lift, the entrance to the "biggest world's fair in history" doesn't look like much.
You see just a short walkway leading to a few chrome-and-glass office buildings.But walk past these bland buildings, and the quirky world constructed solely for Expo 2000 opens up: 50 national pavilions constructed of paper, glass or plain old wood, and shaped at various turns like a wing, a vase or an African hut. Most striking of all is The Netherlands entry, with trees sticking out of its center and water rushing down its sides.
Stretching down the middle of these strange feats of architecture is a lush garden of imported -- and incongruous -- plants and flowers from the world over. The idea is to give the visitors the feeling of taking a trip around the world without ever leaving the fairgrounds.
Expo 2000 opens June 1 with the theme of "Humankind-Nature-Technology: A New World Arising."
Nearly 200 countries are represented, but the list does not include the United States. Organizers failed to come up with enough private money. Still, it's the most ever for a world's fair.
Over its five-month run, Expo 2000 planners hope to draw 40 million visitors to this mid-sized city in northern Germany. The elaborate site, built around Hanover's already existing trade fair halls, also includes five interconnected theme park buildings, two churches, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, a bright yellow six-story mailbox, a new train station, a gondola and even a heliport.
But organizers aren't banking on the elements that drew people to world's fairs in the era of the Eiffel Tower (Paris, 1900) or even the Space Needle (Seattle, 1962). While those fairs followed the tradition of showcasing the latest human feats of technology and science, a tradition set in 1851 with the first world's fair in London, this fair hopes to turn that concept around.
Instead of presenting the latest in technological innovation -- something people can see on the Internet these days anyway -- Expo 2000 director Birgit Breuel has said she hopes the fair will show how humans and technology can exist with, and help improve, the natural world.
(As for a counterpart of the Eiffel Tower or Space Needle, it's the towering mailbox, with a view of the entire Expo grounds.)
Many of the country pavilions will follow the environmental theme. Japan's pavilion is built almost entirely out of recycled paper, and The Netherlands' building uses wind generators for electricity. Nepal is building its pavilion without the use of modern machinery.
The heart of Expo 2000 is the Theme Park, a series of five interconnected buildings. Although the name brings to mind carnival rides, this theme park is organized around concepts such as "Humankind," "Nutrition," "Energy" and other environmentally conscious themes geared toward the next century.
The many cultural events will include the visual arts -- one artist has repainted a gray wall of one of the trade center buildings in bright colors -- as well as more interactive exhibits. For example, one billed as a "Wonder of the World" requires visitors to get into their bathing suits and swim underwater to the yet-unannounced "wonder."
On the lighter side, there's the 5,000-capacity disco, and among the many pop concerts planned is a performance by Hanover's hometown heroes, The Scorpions. A number of classical music and dance events are also planned.
Many of the pop music performances will be at the Preussag Arena, a 13,500-capacity hall.
Expo 2000 is being put on by a private company that is mostly funded by the German government. The more than $1.5 billion undertaking is already anticipating a loss of about $200 million. But spokeswoman Maren Brandt points out that the fair has brought other benefits to the community, including the creation of 100,000 temporary jobs in a country with about 10 percent unemployment.
In preparation for the Expo, Hanover has given itself a face lift that, according to city estimates, has cost between $5 billion and $8 billion in public and private funding.
The improvements have included everything from expanding the subway lines, and adding video screens and candy machines to some trains, to renovating city hall, one of the few historic buildings in Hanover. About 85 percent of the city was destroyed by Allied bombs in World War II.
In addition, freeways have been repaired, the airport has a new terminal and the train station has undergone extensive remodeling.
The German railway system also built a new train station at the fair site that will be serviced by Germany's high-speed trains. An expanded train schedule means it will be possible to stay in Hamburg (an hour away by train) or Berlin (1 hour 40 minutes) and travel to Expo during the day.
Many of the city's museums have planned special exhibitions. Hotels, shops and restaurants are getting gussied up -- and adding English to their menus.
The city also got permission to expand its shopping hours to 10 p.m. on weekdays during the fair. This is a rarity in Germany, where shops are legally required to close at 8 p.m. on weekdays. German unions are fighting the extended hours. An agreement is expected to be reached by the time the Expo opens.
Hanover's organizers are confident that the city's central location will make it a stopping point on people's longer summer vacations. They also hope the scope of Expo 2000 will get people's attention.
"I'm personally convinced that people will come," says spokeswoman Christina Mueschen. "I think people will use the opportunity, while they are already on vacation in Germany, or also just because they are curious."