After four years of work and $10 billion (£6.2bn) in investment, the Yeosu Expo has kicked off with a spectacular high-tech opening ceremony. A total of 104 nations and 10 international organisations will stage exhibitions over the next three months in the city of Yeosu in South Korea, under the theme of "The Living Ocean and Coast".
Organisers hope for about 10 million visitors, including up to 500,000 foreigners mainly from China and Japan. They predict the event will create some 80,000 jobs and bring economic benefits worth 19 trillion won (£10.2bn) - outweighing the billions spent on the site and new hotels and upgrading roads and railways.
The "Big-O", a 48-metre-tall (158-foot-tall) round steel structure, greets visitors to the 25-hectare (60 acre) Expo site. It features cannon shooting jets of water and flame generators.
Colourful hologram images and light shows are projected on a giant water curtain and dancers perform on a stage floating in front of the Big-O.
The ceiling of the international pavilion features a 218-metre-long LED screen displaying marine life and giving visitors the sensation of walking under the sea.
Yeosu, with a scenic coastline and hundreds of nearby islands, is showcasing marine conservation and green technology with its expo.
National flags of the countries participating in the expo are shown on a huge LED screen
A ghostly figure appears on the Big O
An image is projected onto the Big O
An image of swimming whale is projected onto the Big O
South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak speaks at the opening ceremony
A spectator (bottom R) visits the South Korea pavilion
A spectator visits the Singapore pavilion
The France Pavilion
A spectator visits the South Korean pavilion at the Yeosu Expo site
A robot performs at the Hyundai Motor Group pavillion
The Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering displaying robots for deep sea exploration
The Big O pavilion is illuminated during the opening ceremony
Fireworks light the sky for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Yeosu Expo
Dancers perform on the Big O stage
South Korean girl group 2NE1 performs during the opening ceremony
A South Korean choir performs during the opening ceremony
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