T-minus 15 days to Expo Milano 2015 – Eutelsat gearing up to bring its skills as official sponsor and exclusive satellite partner

Credits: Expo 2015/Daniele Mascolo

Milan, Paris, 16 April 2015 – At 15 days to the opening of Expo Milano 2015, Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) is gearing up to contribute its technology skills to this universal exhibition as official and exclusive satellite partner. With exhibitors assembling from 144 countries and over 20 million visitors expected to visit Milan from May 1 to 31 October, Expo Milano 2015 is set to put Milan at the hub of a global conversation around its chosen theme “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life”.

Eutelsat will leverage its innovative technologies and worldwide footprint to support communications requirements for the Expo Milano community. It will start with global distribution of a concert on the Piazza Duomo with Andrea Bocelli on April 30, the eve of the official opening. Using uplinking services provided by Globecast, capacity on eight Eutelsat satellites will beam live and free coverage of the concert filmed in High Definition by Rai, Italy’s national broadcaster.

Using the most advanced video technologies, Eutelsat has also filmed a unique sequence in Ultra HD that will be made available to Expo Milano 2015 and broadcast through its satellites. The new video is of Giotto’s famous frescos in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, including scenes of food and nature that reflect the main theme of Expo Milano 2015. These new Ultra HD images represent the highest quality video record of the genius of Italian art.

Eutelsat will also collaborate with Globecast, Rai, Rai Way and Telecom Italia to provide turnkey services to companies, country pavilions, organisations and broadcasters during the six-month event so they can deliver immediate coverage of news from Expo Milano to audiences around the world.

Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat’s Chairman and CEO, said: “We are proud to partner with Expo Milano, which is one of the most significant international events in Italy since the Winter Olympic Games in Turin of which we were also a technical sponsor. We look forward to contributing our skills and to participating in taking this event beyond Milan so that its messages can touch more citizens than ever before for a universal exhibition.”

Piero Galli, Director General of the Sales & Entertainment Division of Expo 2015 S.p.A. added: "Through our collaboration with Eutelsat, Expo Milano 2015 will help Italy's exceptional achievements resonate to a truly global audience right from the eve of the official opening. The live worldwide broadcast of a performance by Andrea Bocelli, one of our most iconic ambassadors, and the Ultra HD video from Assisi are concrete evidence of initiatives that will make this event unmissable."

www.expo2015.org/en