United Nations
National Day : October 24, 1988
Agreement to Participate : 4 September 1988
Commissioner - General : Mr Gilberto Rizzo
Pavilion : 552 square metres
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The façade of the United Nations Pavilion at World Expo '88 is partially visible in this colour photograph
Image Kind Courtesy of the Damian McGreevy Collection of Foundation Expo '88

The United Nations Pavilion, near the Melbourne Street entrance of the Exposition and just behind the Australian and Queensland Pavilions, was one of the more bright expo pavilions, with a huge 30m x 10m mural of children from all over the world by internationally reknowned Australian designer/artist Ken Done adorning the pavilion outside wall.

Visit Ken Done's web-site


Inside, profits from the Pavilion shop benefited UNICEF, and guests were taken on a trip around the world on a multi-visual presentation entitled "Island in Space" narrated by Sir Peter Ustinov, with music composed by Michael Conway Baker (note below). A multi-screen audio-visual 'Worldwatch 2020' - a fantasy view of Earth from an alien perspective also featured. 


MUSIC FOR THE UNITED NATIONS PAVILION AT
EXPO '86, VANCOUVER, B.C., CANADA 
WORLD EXPO '88, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

By Michael Conway Baker, O.B.C. Order of British Columbia

As is typical of film music, I was asked to write and produce the score for the U.N. pavilion at the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, B.C. about two weeks before the opening.  Needless to say, I had to get a "handle" on what the music was to characterize in a very short time.  There was a good deal of talking and debating about the music mainly because the visuals had not been set.  The narrative, by Peter Ustinov, had already been done, but not edited.  The budget for the music was very low and had to be performed on MIDI (synthesizers) by myself.  There was one defining moment that came, just before we were all going to take a lunch break, when I suddenly knew what was needed musically.  I jumped up and said I was going home to write down a major portion of the score and that I would return in a couple of hours.  When I returned and played my musical "solution", everyone applauded and agreed that, yes, this was the way to go. The whole music track was completed the next day. The pictures and narrative were then edited to the music, something rarely done in film making. The producer explained that the music was the "spine" of the whole show and that, up until the moment the music was completed, he had been uncertain about how to edit the pictures and narrative.  The whole procedure was a revelation to me. This same score and audio-visual was used for the U.N. Pavilion at Brisbane's World Expo '88.

Michael Conway Baker later was asked to compose the music for the Canada Pavilion at Taejon Expo '93 (South Korea.)




Available on
"The Greater Vancouver Music Album"