Floriade 2012
The Floriade 2012 was a Dutch horticultural exposition held in Venlo, Netherlands. It was the nineteenth AIPH world horticultural exhibition and the sixth Floriade and was held from April 5 to October 7, 2012. The Floriade 2012 was opened by Queen Beatrix.[1][2] The exposition's theme and slogan was "Be part of the theatre in nature; get closer to the quality of life".[3][4]
EXPO 2012 Venlo | |
---|---|
Floriade theater | |
Overview | |
BIE-class | Horticultural exposition |
Name | Floriade 2012 |
Motto | Living Nature |
Area | 66 hectares (160 acres) |
Participant(s) | |
Countries | 25 |
Location | |
Country | Netherlands |
City | Venlo |
Timeline | |
Opening | April 5, 2012 |
Closure | October 7, 2012 |
Horticultural expositions | |
Previous | Royal Flora Ratchaphruek in Chiang Mai |
Next | Expo 2016 in Antalya |
Internet | |
Website | website |
Preparation
The Dutch Horticultural Council selected a number of candidates starting in June 2004 for the organization of the Floriade 2012.[5] The official candidates were:
- Arnhem
- Drechtsteden (Alblasserdam, Dordrecht, 'S-Gravendeel, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Papendrecht, Sliedrecht, Zwijndrecht)
- NoordWest 8 (a partnership of several organizations in the field of thirty municipalities in the region of Alkmaar, Hoorn and Den Helder)
- Region Venlo
- Rotterdam
- Tilburg / Brabantstad
- District Amsterdam-Noord
The municipalities of Rotterdam and Arnhem had in earlier decided to withdraw the candidacy because the financial risks were deemed too high. In Drechtsteden, the five participating municipalities failed to make a positive decision. In Drechtsteden, the concerns of high costs, environmental impact and disruption of Sunday rest were reasons against hosting the festival. The board of the Dutch Horticultural Council announced on December 8, 2004 that the plan of the only remaining candidate, Venlo, met the criteria.
The official preview event, named "Floriade Invites", hosted 22,000 visitors on June 20, 2010.[6] The Floriade, which was designed by landscape architect John Boon, made prominent use of Cradle-to-cradle design.[7]
The festival
The Floriade Park covered a total of 66 hectares (163 acres), including 22 hectares (55 acres) of forest, two and a half acres of buildings and four acres of water. Organizers of the festival planted 1,700 trees, 20,000 shrubs, 200,000 perennials, 65,000 water plants, one and a half million bulbs and 95,000 annuals. There were 60 charging stations for electric cars in the parking lot of the Floriade.[8] The park consisted of five themed areas, separated by woodland. Each theme area had its own decor, program and activities.
- Relax & Heal
- Green Engine
- Education & Innovation
- Environment
- World Show Stage
The Floriade contained two imposing buildings. The design was created between 2007 and 2010 and the first tree planting was in 2008. The same year also saw construction of the theme field, Relax & Heal, and a year later the shrubs were planted. In 2010, the perennials were placed and planted borders. The last theme field Green Engine was built.
Villa Flora was one of the biggest crowd pullers at the Floriade.[9][10] The fully energy-neutral building is a symbol of sustainability, innovation and the green economy. Villa Flora is a design by the architect Jón Kristinsson. The Innova has been designed by former government architect Jo Coenen.[11] The building is 70 meters (230') high and has 16 floors, with exhibition rooms on the 16th floor, and has been redeveloped to become part of the Venlo GreenPark, a green business park.[12][13] A 1,100 meter (1200 yard) long cable car system running through the park opened on April 16, 2011.
Queen Beatrix visited the Floriade a second time during the state visit of President Abdullah Gül of Turkey, in which the president opened the Turkish pavilion.
Gallery
- The "Innovation Tower", Floriade entrance
- Cable car station
- Netherlands' pavilion
- Villa Flora
References
- Beatrix opent Floriade op uitzendinggemist.nl
- Koningin opent Floriade
- "Floriade 2012 - World Horticultural Expo - Venlo, the Netherlands & Floriade 2012". Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- Gary Pini (January 8, 2010). "Seven Wonders Of My World". Paper magazine. Archived from the original on November 6, 2010. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- "bidboek". Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
- "Gerbera Nieuws op GerberaNet - Gerbera Net" (in Dutch). Gerberanet.nl. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
- http://www.tuinenlandschap.nl/pdf/4a2cf9cd2ede12dfae7ceb0ba0cbe444.pdf
- Record Floriade zestig elektrische oplaadpunten
- Villa Flora Archived 2012-05-30 at Archive.today
- Villa Flora
- Innavatoren Archived 2011-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Venlo GreenPark Archived 2012-06-04 at Archive.today
- Venlo GreenPark
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Floriade 2012 (Netherlands). |