Over 700 delegates from around 90 countries have attended the first International Participants Meeting, the event with which Milan's global exhibition is announcing itself to the world from October 25-27.

The event begun with "Expo: Milan calls the world", a meeting with the 191 foreign communities living in Milan organised by the city authorities.

The event began on October 25 with the symbolic flag ceremony, where the standards of countries who will take part in the Expo were unveiled and will subsequently remain on show at the city's symbolic Loggia dei Mercanti until the exhibition gets underway.

There are currently a record 57 countries involved in the exhibition, three years ahead of the show's opening on May 1 2015.

The target is to reach 130 countries. Intellectuals from around the world have been invited to collaborate in Carta 2015, a document on the solutions to food problems, which is to be a lasting legacy of the Expo.

The three-day meeting in Milan and in Villa Erba, on lake Como, will be attended by the two Expo commissioners (the mayor of Milan, Giuliano Pisapia, and the president of the Lombardy region, Roberto Formigoni), chiefs from the Bureau of International Exhibitions, the president of Confindustria, Emma Marcegaglia, and tomorrow, on the final day of the event, the Foreign Minister Franco Frattini).

Officials will attempt to involve as many participants as possible, including states, International organisations, regions and, more generally, the so-called unofficial participants.

The aim is not only to convince them to take part in Expo, but also to be active in all preparatory stages in the lead-up to the event. In comparison with previous Expos, the Milan event, which is dedicated to "Feeding the planet - energy for life" promises to be more interactive and sustainable, but no less spectacular or entertaining.

At least 50% of the exhibition will be set to a "green" backdrop or will at least be staged in the open, with participants invited to use advanced technology and interactive elements enabling content to be downloaded.

A nocturnal Expo, which will have its own ticket, is also planned, and participating countries will be obliged to keep their tasting points open into the evening, as part of a packed programme of events both inside and outside the Expo site.

Exceptionally, the Teatro alla Scala will also remain open throughout August 2015. Issues surrounding a number of areas of the Expo will be developed with a series of schedules announced during the meeting, when the various forms of participations, service offers and costs will be listed. (ANSAmed).