ASTANA – After a national poll with more than 10,000 people in Kazakhstan voting over the Internet, the new logo for EXPO 2017 was announced on July 26.
“Wind Energy” is the new logo for the international exposition to be held in Astana in 2017 that will focus on the theme of “Future Energy.” The final logo was determined by the State Commission on Preparation for the International Specialised Exhibition EXPO 2017, which chose between the two logos that received the most Internet votes by the public.
The logo selection process went through several stages. Fifty six designs were presented to the EXPO commission, which chose seven finalists. Those seven logos, created by 27 designers from 18 countries, were put to a popular vote on the EXPO 2017 website before heading back to the commission for the final selection.
“EXPO 2017 is an important event for all of Kazakhstan. That is why the exhibition logo should be chosen by all of us. Professional selection is over; now you get to choose!” read a note from organisers on the website during the voting process. They specified that the ideal logo should have an international focus, be able to remain topical into the future and incorporate the future energy theme into its design.
During the voting period from July 9-22, nearly 12,000 people in Kazakhstan visited the website to vote on the logo, and pages promoting different designs were created on social networking sites. Astana and Almaty residents made up nearly half of the voters, but organisers said most regions of the country were represented in the voting process.
In the end, two logo designs were nearly tied for the most votes. “We ended up with two leaders,” Director of the Communications and Marketing Department of EXPO 2017 National Company Assel Kozhakova said. “The “Green Energy” logo was ranked first with 3,088 votes and the “Wind Energy” logo was ranked second with 2,594 votes. They are way ahead of all the other logos.” “Wind Energy,” second place in the popular vote, was chosen by the state commission.
According to EXPO 2017 organisers, it is common for planners of international events like expos to change logos between the process of competing to host the event and the preparation for the event itself. Logos used in nomination campaigns years before an event can lose relevance.
Now the next stage is ahead including the development of a so called brand book of the corporate logo use, and the registration of the trade mark on national and international levels.
In related news, on July 25 the commission finished accepting submissions for the best draft design of the EXPO 2017 exhibition complex and for an object that is to become the symbol of the EXPO.
More than 50 submissions were received from companies in 20 countries, including Austria, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea (Republic of), the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Tunis, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The winner of the contest is to be awarded the prize of US$ 150,000.
Over the next two weeks, a technical council comprising prominent international and Kazakh architects and experts will appraise the submissions. The council is chaired by Jeremy Rifkin.
Following that, from August 12 to August 16, the Korme exhibition centre in Astana will display the submissions for the public to review.
The results of the contest are expected to be made public on August 16 when the choice of the exhibition design will be announced.
