World expo and international exhibitions as an instrument of the image of the tourist and cultural city? Barcelona 2004, Zaragoza 2008, Shanghai 2010[Les expositions universelles et internationales au service de l'image de la ville touristique et culturelle ? Barcelone 2004, Saragosse 2008, Shanghai 2010]

Through the recent world expo and international exhibitions of the beginning of the 21st century (Zaragoza 2008 and Shanghai 2010) as well as their imitation by certain municipalities such as Barcelona in 2004, we will take a position on the lasting effects of its ephemeral manifestations in the field of creation. of architectural icons directly linked to the provision of leisure and convention infrastructure. This research is the result of a doctorate on the universal and international exhibitions of Barcelona which has given rise to various publications and the forthcoming publication of a book. We will answer the question of knowing in what lies the power of evocation, of societal mobilization and of the creation of a new image of the so-called dynamic and modern city through the making of exhibition centers presenting an original architecture often breaking with the past with pavilions becoming new urban symbols by transmitting a new message to the many outside stakeholders. We will answer it in three stages starting from an analysis over the long term, then from the difficult and sometimes too easy conceptualization of signature architecture in the 21st century and finally from the possible imitations of these mega-events throughout the world giving give rise to controversy. As for digital, it now allows virtual tours for a virtual world that is becoming increasingly important in the image and marketing of a global city that must be connected to the world (example, Shanghai 2010. Universal Exhibition and the route – virtual tourist visit by Dassault system). The other contribution lies in the development plan for the Shanghai World Expo - Universal Exhibition district planned for the city and not for the ephemeral event with the heavy infrastructure (convention and congress center, MICE) as the organizational pivot of this urban space including a modern riverfront and a symbolic architecture of certain national pavilions with the France Pavilion and the Chinese Pavilion.