The latest figures from Expo 2020 Dubai show the event has recorded about 1.5 million visits since opening day. The world's fair reported 1,471,314 visits in the first 24 days. Before the long weekend, ticketed visits were well on course to reach the one million milestone – with 771,477 recorded between October 1 and October 17. Over the past seven days, the Expo welcome 699,837 more visits, well exceeding the expected target. Space Week was a strong draw with the public, featuring nebula music, stargazing and a chance for visitors to hear from the UAE’s first astronauts – Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, and Nora Al Matrooshi, the first female Emirati astronaut. Closer to Earth, the UAE’s aerobatic display team Al Fursan (The Knights) and their Saudi counterparts, the Saudi Falcons, staged a heart-stopping show in the skies above the Expo site while Al Wasl drew the large crowds to its spectacular space-themed projection show Children made up about a quarter of visits as pupils enjoyed their half-term break. Activities on offer included football sessions hosted by coaches from Manchester City. The long weekend had a packed itinerary to entertain the high level of expected guests, including the debut performance of AR Rahman's all-women Firdaus Orchestra. Regular events have also been consistently drawing crowds. They include the evening light festival Kaleidoscope, the Expo 2020 Water Feature and the Garden in the Sky, which allows for a 360-degree view of the site. The digital audience also continues to grow, with the number of online visits rising to 10.8 million, an increase of 1.5 million over the past week.
