The Pakistan pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020 attracted more than 100,000 visitors over a period of just 18 days, making it one of the busiest pavilions of the mega event since it started on October 1.

The announcement was made in a tweet on the Pakistan pavilion's official Twitter account on Thursday.

"The 18th of October marked our 100,000 visitors' milestone. On this joyous event, we would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to the team who [have] operated round-the-clock behind the scenes to bring such an abundant flow of visitors," the tweet said.

The news was also confirmed by Pakistan Pavilion Director General Rizwan Tariq, who told Dubai-based Gulf News that the "response has been phenomenal since the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai".

"We are extremely happy to announce that the pavilion received more than 100,000 visitors during the first 18 days of October," he said, adding that the "pavilion has attracted the attention of visitors through its spaces and activities that reveal ‘the hidden treasure’ of Pakistan".

According to the Gulf News report, around 8,000 guests visited the pavilion on the first day of the event and the footfall was recorded at 55,000 in the first week of October.

"The pavilion reached 120,000 visitors in just three days of reaching its first milestone [of 100,000]," the report said, adding that the response had been exceptional particularly on weekends.

Earlier this month, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood had also shared the news of the pavilion attracting 55,000 visitors in the first week of the Expo.

“The response we received was overwhelming and the number of visitors we had in the first week was beyond our expectations,” Dawood said in an official announcement.

The adviser had thanked all visitors coming to the pavilion and showing their interest in Pakistan’s culture, and appreciating the richness and diversity it holds.

"It is a country of great opportunities for tourism and investment," he said at the time.

The pavilion's facade

One of Pakistan’s leading visual artists, Rashid Rana, is the visionary behind the game-changing design of the pavilion's façade that has taken both the Expo organisers and visitors by storm.

Rana’s design draws inspiration from the diversity that Pakistan has to offer.

“Our country is one of the most diverse regions on the planet; geographically, climatically, culturally, racially, and ethnically, and I wanted that reflected in the design,” he told Dawn.

This artistic intervention titled 'Unity of All that Appears' comprises 24,000 seemingly identical but all, in fact, unique pieces, fractionally different from each other in size and colour but welded together in harmony.

“The transition between seasons and the unity among characteristic groups within the country are the driving force behind the design,” Rana explained.

The construction of the pavilion and its internal displays was funded by a trust, which was formed to raise the required finances through private donations. The exterior is the first point of contact and Rana’s design has truly succeeded in drawing in the crowd who leave the pavilion mesmerised after an engaging, multi-sensory inner journey, principally curated by Noorjehan Bilgrami, a noted multi-disciplinary artist, curator and educationist best known for her tireless work in reviving traditional crafts of Pakistan.

Under the theme 'The Hidden Treasure', with an inviting façade and an immersive walk-through experience, the pavilion aims to showcase Pakistan's vast opportunities in tourism and commerce and investment to the expected 25 million global audiences.

The Dubai Expo 2020 kicked off on October 1 — a year late due to the Covid-19 pandemic — and will run until March 31, 2022.