one giant mega event looming. and of course, fitting for a giant mega event, that was to happen in this city of superlatives, dubai. nobody knew for sure it would happen, but here it is. hello, expo 2020, orshould that be expo 2021. it was delayed by a year, and for a place that relies so heavily on tourism, dubai needed this to happen. in fact, it is probably not too much of a stretch to say the entire international tourism industry needed this to happen. well, i'm armed with my expo passport — let's do this. it has taking place over six months, and had nearly 2.5 million visits in the first month alone. 192 countries have created pavilions showcasing innovations for the future. here in a site twice the size of monaco, you have a world in miniature. looking around this place, one thing to remember is that pavilions are like shop windows for countries. you know, in amongst all the tech and innovation, it's a real chance for them to show the rest of the world their big ideas, and the idealised vision of their culture and values. but for some seasoned travellers, their experiences of these countries might be a little bit different. the first expo, then called the world's fair, started back in 1851, when it was opened by the uk's queen victoria in london. back then, when only a fraction of people ever went abroad, and information about the world was harder to come by, the multicultural innovations on show, fuelled by the new industrial revolution, would have seemed extraordinary. but now, it is a technological revolution at expo�*s heart. as you can probably tell, still a work in progress... last year i came to see it in the making, so now i have come back to see how it has all come together. now, the last time i was here, this place did not look like this, it was basically one big construction site. and i can see they have completely transformed it. the uk's contribution presents a huge wall of poetry, which doesn't always make total sense. it's generated by artificial intelligence using words donated by the public, and was inspired by professor stephen hawking's theories about how the world might come together to communicate a message in the event of meeting intelligent life from another planet. so i will type my word in here, i am going for "beautiful". and now i believe it is going to appear on the big screen. so talk me through the arrangement of the words. because looking at right now, it doesn't look like it makes a lot of sense. so how do we make a story out of this? it is really simple. poetry is very personal. every word is given a single couplet, those couplets will speak to the individual who donated the word, but what is really exciting about this is the algorithm has been trained over many, many months. it has digested 15,000 poems, including shakespeare, including blake and so on and so forth. the poetry societies across the uk have fed the algorithm words and poems, so that it can learn how to create poetry. and the more words we give it, the better the sense of the poetry becomes. and right now it has been up for a few weeks, and you can see sentences, you can see sense within this building. what we're trying to do with this building is show that we are innovators as a nation. the pavilions each sit in one of the expo�*s three main themes — mobility, opportunity and sustainability. and each theme has its own building. the sustainability pavilion is net zero energy and net zero water, diverting people's waste water through a natural outdoor filtration system of reedbeds and then reused on the site's vegetation. so all around us you will find buildings that are net zero energy, you will find buildings that have employed sustainable wood technologies and methodologies — shading, outdoor passive cooling areas. and it is actually a real honour to stand alongside all of these country pavilions from all around the world that have chosen to highlight solutions that are applicable to those regions. and trialling them out to see what works here. and walking around, one of the sustainability pavilions stand out among the others. so there is around 80,000 different kind of plans —— plants in the tropical garden, and over 190 different species. and it really is so peaceful and tranquil, just wandering through here. and i also think it's kind of crazy that i am in a giant garden that is slap—bang in the middle of a desert. in singapore we have more than 250 hectares of vertical green. so what we do here is reflected in what we do in singapore, in a much, much bigger way. five decades ago, singapore is known as the garden city. and until recently, the last decade, we have evolved into a city in a garden. now we are aspiring to be a city in nature. and will be rewilding all our gardens, we will bring nature closer to the people. once you bring this down to the city, we are bringing the biodiversity closer to them. i think that is what we want to see. and what better proof of that than with their first visitor, a bird that has nested in the pavilion. but for dubai, while all this might seem like a huge boon for the time being, what happens when all the visitors go home and the pavilions pack up and shut their doors? how sustainable is this expo site then? dubai has expanded at an extraordinary pace in recent years, but still, plans are in place to repurpose expo to create a new living and working environment to support nearly 150,000 people as part of a vision for a human—centric future city. this site is huge. twice the size of monaco, i believe. it is. for the built environment, it is twice the size of monaco. it is massive, so how will you make use of the space, how will you utilise it? 80% of everything we have built gets repurposed. and it is taking this space, this incredible environment into this innovation hub. and it is a blank canvas, really, for us, for architects, for smart infrastructure solutions, for start—ups that want to come into this vibrant environment. dubai is moving towards becoming a very smart city, we are taking the lead in that. it is about creating this industry that is another focal point for dubai. and finally, it's night time when this place transforms into something else altogether. like at south korea's pavilion, bursting with lights and technology. so if i scan this image here... i get an augmented reality view of what south korea deems to be the future of mobility. and that includes flying cars. but there is one last emerging global superpower i wanted to see. so this is the china pavilion, and one of the biggest pavilions here, you might have guessed it might be — they definitely don't do things by halves, which explains why every night they do a drones and lights performance outside. here it goes! a brilliantly synchronised, stunning display. i expected nothing less. stay with us, because still to come on the show: i take on one of the world's biggest floating inflatable assault courses... boo! ..and find out how the residents of a very special home here in dubai coped during lockdown last year. the speed with which those things devoured that chicken was unbelievable. the beaches here are one of the many reasons to visit dubai, and as you can see, it is a glorious day, people are enjoying the sun. and i have been told there is a really fun way to cool off here. i'm about to give it a try. this is dubai aqua fun, the brainchild of a young emirati entrepreneur called ahmed ben chaibah. he claims it is the biggest inflatable water park in the world. against the backdrop of hotels and skyscrapers, and a short 25 metre swim from the beach, you will find a course made up of over 70 floating blow—up slippery slides, swings and other obstacles, all designed to test your stamina, balance and bravery. and after a bit of undignified clamber on board, i am ready to accept the challenge. it is a lot slipperier than you think! come on lucy! almost! i think i've — 0h! i was just about to say, i think i've been in the water enough. went five seconds and i didn't even touch the obstacle. he we go! boo! laughs that is what you've got to look out for. you might complete the obstacle but the slipping at the end, every time. every time! something tells me i may have spoken too soon. i challenge anyone to get over this thing and stay dry. i am fit, yeah? i'm trying my hardest! but most importantly, this is so much fun. three, two, one! all right, here we go! woo! how can you not love the slide? i think i am ready to get off now. well, now that i am thoroughly soaked through, it is time to dry off. but i am not heading back to the beach — instead, perhaps it is time to feel the wind in my very wet hair. how's this for a socially distanced experience? these are the dubai hero boats — your own personal speedboat that lets you cut through the warm waters of the gulf at speeds of up to 50km/h. after a short instructional and safety tutorial, you'll stick to a vast but designated course, accompanied by a guide who's on hand to ensure that you stick to the rules while getting a high—speed and unique view of the dubai beaches and skyline. as far as rides go, this one is awesome. it's super easy to drive and brandon's nearby for safety, just in case. you know, yeah, you could go pretty slow but the real fun begins when you crank up the engine and, more importantly, you do it with no mask! well, to finish off this week, we're heading to a place here in dubai where, despite the heat outside, it rains as regularly as clockwork inside and it's home to some rather special residents, and i've been to meet some of them. this is green planet dubai — a purpose—built biodome where, no matter what the temperature is outside, inside, it is a different story and that's because of the thousands of animals, birds, fish and insects that live here. this is just amazing. i mean, you've got a rainforest in the middle of the city. how, how, how? tell me about the building. so the building itself, it's temperature and humidity controlled all year long. yeah, yeah. perfect tropical environment right in the middle of downtown dubai. chuckles. dubai is not a place that's kind of synonymous with nature. but dubai is known for doing things unique, so the only rainforest in the middle of dubai shouldn't come to a shock as anyone. so this tree here is artificial and then everything growing off of it is natural. i can't get over this soundtrack — it's so beautiful. relaxing, isn't it? it's very tranquil, isn't it? it is, and it's funny when you start really seeing the animals and their personalities, so the toco toucan over, he is the boss of the birds. yep. he's in charge. so everyone has their kind of place and their homes and their personality and it's just a lot of fun to watch. yeah. and how many different species of animal are in here? there's hundreds of different species, thousands of different animals. you have the bestjob. thank you so much. i know, we're very lucky. we're — every day is a little bit different, though. it's like working with kids — you can't predict what's going to happen by the end of the day. yeah, yeah. every time you think you have them figured out, someone'll surprise you and get themselves in a situation where you go "i did not even know that was possible". yeah, yeah! how did you decide what animals actually go in here, you know, because they all have to play nice together, i presume. it's a very particular process to look before we bring any new animal. educationally, what would they bring to the facility? how they would work together with the other animals. do they have the space and all the requirements that they need? our last new animals where our three ring—tailed lemurs that you'll see today and the first day that they came, right after lockdown, they were introduced, they kind of came out and i swear to you, there was about 100 birds all around them gathering like... who's the new kid? exactly! so there was a whole introduction process that they have to get used to and pass the test. yeah, yeah! but now, they are settled in like pros. but in the building, we try to be sustainable as possible, whether it has to do with the grey water recycling programme, with eliminating as much as possible single—use plastics. we also have many different critically endangered conservation breeding programmes for animals here in the building for the survival of these species as unfortunately, there's a lot of species becoming extinct in their natural habitat every year. yeah, yeah. we're trying to do all we can to just help them stay alive. yeah. we hope every one of our guests comes, experiences, has a great time, but leaves with a little bit more of a passion to take care of the environment. come here! 0h, they are both back! 0h, hello. 0h, here we go! i love that there's just no fear. i don't think i have ever seen animals be this brazen before — collectively as well, you know? honestly, that's because it is their home first, right? so these guys are confident, knowing they can be wherever they want to be and guests can come nice and close but won't be touching any of the animals and therefore, they can be wherever they want and explore. 0h, hejust did a little twirl for the camera. you just want to have some more nuts? so when guests, when visitors come, they are told no touching the animals, you know — got to be strict about that, obviously. yes. we do have particular programmes where you can, in a small group, get to know the animals more close—up if that is something you would like to do, but in general with our larger quantities of guests coming through, we'll observe them on a little distance so that they can be comfortable coming to see you. and that's why we can have the sloths, the monkeys, the birds, the lizards all kind of doing their own thing. it's so fascinating just watching the way he eats. in the claw, using the beak to scrape the nut. when the pandemic hit last year, it must�*ve been so tough for you. it's not what you guys can flip the switch off, go home and come back in a few months. no, definitely not. so considering there are thousands of animals and plants around here that are relying on us for their survival no matter what, but we knew that's what needed to happen and so it's what we were happy — more than happy to do, and that is how we got through it. in addition to being able to see wildlife from the aerial walkways, there are also programmes here that give you the chance to get up close to some of the more intimidating residents, like a shoal of deadly flesh—eating hungry piranhas. matt, are you sure this is safe? absolutely, it's safe. i've noticed you've got a cut on your hand. is that cool? yeah, not a problem. it's alright to roll with you? yep. chicken — just doing their chickens, we're gonna watch from about 1.5m away. yep, yep. it'll be absolutely fine. and how many piranhas are in here? around 500. 500, nice. yeah. 0k. i'll see you on other side. sounds good! let's go. thankfully, iam not on the menu today, which is a blessing considering how hungry these fish look. god, the speed in which those things devoured that chicken — chuckles — was unbelievable. i had to keep telling myself "they're not gonna eat my feet. "they're not gonna eat my feet." but interestingly, it was not the piranhas that was the most terrifying things. the pacu — the size of them! they're like this! some of them at the bottom are even bigger, so i think that was the more disconcerting thing for me but that was brilliant. i learned a lot about piranhas today. they don't want to eat me, and that's good. towards the end of every day here at green planet, the artificial heavens open and the whole biodome is soaked in a warm tropical downpour as some of the more nocturnal animals wake up and others start thinking about heading for bed — which is exactly what i'm going to do, thanks to an overnight camping programme they also run here. so the last thing i thought i would be doing when i was told i would be coming to dubai would be camping overnight with nothing but lemurs, parrots and a tarantula to keep me company. i have a feeling the morning is going to be very early and very, very loud. the lights go out at midnight. wish me luck. owl hoots sleeping in a tent inside a building that's pretending owl hoots sleeping in a tent inside a building that's pretending to be outside. only in dubai! well, that's all we've got time for this week but do join us next week, if you can, when... buongiorno! christa is in sardinia, one of only a handful of designated uber—healthy blue zones around the world where your chances of living to 100 and beyond are pretty high. 0h! all this, and you live a long life. it's a pretty good way of life, i think. do catch that if you can and don't forget, you can watch more of our adventures on bbc iplayer. and from me, lucy hedges and the rest of the travel show team here in dubai, it's goodbye. hello there. still that cold air clinging on in the far north of scotland. a much milder start the tuesday. a very cloudy start with some mist and merck and patchy rain and drizzle and into the afternoon, we will see heavier rain returning to northern ireland, getting into western scotland as well as parts of england and wales will see some bright sunny spells, but afternoon temperatures up to 12 celsius, much milder than it has been away from the far north of the uk. through tuesday night, outbreaks of rain pushing eastwards, some strong winds for a time as well, and by the end of the night, the winds start to come back down from the north so it will start to feel a bit colder again, so a chili a couple of days through wednesday into thursday. there will be some dry weather with some shelves around as well. —— some showers around as well. —— some showers around as well. —— some showers around as well. weight hello, you're watching bbc news with me rich preston and we are taking you to the caribbean island nation of barbados now, where a handover ceremony is under way to mark its transition into the world's newest republic. it is just before midnight there, local time. events are under way in national heroes square in the capital, bridgetown. the ceremony will be marking the moment the country severed its ties to the british monarchy, losing queen elizabeth ii as the head of state. prince charles arrived in barbados at the weekend, attending on behalf of the queen. the english claimed barbados more than 400 years ago, and it became a focal point of the transatlantic slave trade. 0ur correspondent daniela relph is in the capital bridgetown, and we can talk to her now. what is happening at this moment? we are happening at this moment? - are heading now to the minute of transition, and over the past hour we have seen dignitaries arrived, including the prince of wales and a number of other special vips hearing bridgetown, and they are watching a short film about the history of barbados and how we have reached this moment today of this island nation becoming a republic. what we will see over the course of the next half an hour or so is that transition ceremony and it will be be in the front and centre position and he is already being given an official goodbye i suppose really with a march past, and he watched as the royal standard, the queen's flag of the royal family was lowered and taken off of the flagpole here and bridgetown and replaced by the presidentialflag, as and replaced by the presidential flag, as we watched the prince of wales here, you have to wonder what must be going through his mind. it is 30 years since his mother was removed as head of state from anywhere so today must be a bittersweet moment, i think, knowing that this is a country that wants to do something different, to breakfree that wants to do something different, to break free from what it sees as its colonial past, but he has had a long relationship with barbados, he has been visiting here for 50 years,. has been visiting here for 50 ears,. ., u, has been visiting here for 50 ears,. ., . . , years,. you can see the prime minister in _ years,. you can see the prime minister in the _ years,. you can see the prime minister in the crowd - years,. you can see the prime minister in the crowd as - years,. you can see the prime minister in the crowd as well | minister in the crowd as well as the new president, the first president of the country. what is the atmosphere like in the crowd? it is the atmosphere like in the crowd? , , crowd? it is interesting, there are crowds — crowd? it is interesting, there are crowds of _ crowd? it is interesting, there are crowds of people - crowd? it is interesting, there are crowds of people out - crowd? it is interesting, there are crowds of people out in i crowd? it is interesting, there | are crowds of people out in the streets of bridgetown, but there are a number on the streets here in barbados, but not what you'd expect. but having said that there are a number people out and around national heroes square, but the mood has been released celebrate of the last of hours, they have been showing their passion and pride in barbados, some of the country's best traditions, musicians, poets, public speakers, and the president elect, they are in our pictures, she will shortly be sworn in. but it shows really a great deal of pride in this country, and they said that they want to be a republic, and that is very much what we have seen today in the show that has been taking place here over the course of the last couple of hours. there have been a couple of vips, the cricketer was in the vip section, one of barbados' most famous sons, and a national hero of barbados. andrea also told that the singer, rihanna is here. during more formal... 0f is here. during more formal... of the minutes are ticking closer to midnight, as barbados enters this new chapter of its history, becoming the world's newest republic. let's just keep watching those pictures. the unity of hearts, hands and minds. — the unity of hearts, hands and minds, now pledge ourselves, our commitment, loyalty and purpose. _ our commitment, loyalty and purpose, to this, our beloved barbados _ purpose, to this, our beloved barbados. guided by the almighty, we honour our history. _ almighty, we honour our history, ourancestors, our history, our ancestors, our forefathers, history, ourancestors, our forefathers, the architects of freedom, democracy and independence and every loyal son and — you're watching bbc world news with me, rich preston. we're taking you to the caribbean island nation of barbados. it has just ticked over to midnight. the country it has just ticked over to midnight. the country is marking its transition into the well�*s newest republic. losing the monarch, queen elizabeth, as its head of state. world's.

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