The Construction of a Country’s Image for the Expo 2015 Event: The Case of English and German Websites

The chapter conducts a qualitative analysis of the visual and verbal strategies that were used by the German- and English-speaking countries for the Expo 2015 event, which took place in Milan (Italy) from May through October 2015. In particular, the chapter considers the elements that these countries used to construct their image and to ‘sell’ it to stakeholders as well as to create specific expectations in the prospective visitors to both the Expo pavilions and to the actual countries. The visual and the verbal analyses revealed that the main Expo theme ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’ was developed to produce different country images. The group of German-speaking countries constructed their image remaining more faithful to the main Expo theme, especially in reinforcing the idea of countries conscious about sustainable policies in the administration of their land as well as in tourism promotion (Germany and Austria), and in the equal distribution of food (Switzerland). The group of English-speaking countries, instead, used the Expo theme as a starting point to develop an individual interpretation, focusing on the natural resources typical of each country: the orchard for the UK, North Atlantic life for Ireland and rural food and traditions for the USA.