Canada unveiled its national pavilion design for World Expo 2010 in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, the country said as it signed the participation contract with organizers on January 22,2008.

The 6,000-square-meter Canada Pavilion, among the biggest at the site, will feature an exhibition themed "The Living City: Inclusive, Sustainable, Creative."

The pavilion is about the size of two-and-a-half NHL ice hockey rinks, said Susan Gregson, Canada's consul general in Shanghai. It is expected to welcome up to 5.5 million people or 30,000 visitors per day during the six-month Expo period.

The pavilion will be anchored by an open public place and surrounded by three large structures. The square will be a performing area, where visitors can watch the performances of Cirque du Soleil before checking out the pavilion, said Gregson.

The overall budget for the Canadian pavilion will be 45 million Canadian dollars (US$43.57 million), she added.

Canada has also given environmental protection consideration into the pavilion. Part of the pavilion's exterior walls will be covered by a special kind of greenery and rainwater will be collected by a drainage system for use inside the pavilion.

Cirque du Soleil created the concept design for the Canada Pavilion, said Gregson. The country is still searching for contractors for its architectural services, constructions and technical operations, whose public tendering is being processed by Canadian Heritage.

Canada is the 11th participant to sign a participation contract with the organizers.

Cirque du Soleil will also create public performances, organize cultural programs and develop strategic corporate alliances for the pavilion.

The troupe made its debut on the Chinese mainland last summer, bringing the Quidam show to Shanghai, its only stop in China.

Cirque du Soleil was founded by Guy Laliberte, a member of a ragtag band of street performers from the Canadian province of Quebec in 1984.

The entertainment troupe now employs about 3,000 people on three continents and takes in about US$400 million in revenues annually.