Europe December 1, 2009, 3:10PM EST

Selling Britain Inc. to China

Britain is going all out to sell itself and its companies at next year's Shanghai Expo, featuring everything from BP and Barclays to the Beatles and Beckham

Story Tools

The street hawkers of Shanghai may still sell the occasional Mao Zedong wristwatch to nostalgic tourists on Nanjing Road, but modern China's obsession with Western brands is writ large on the vast plasma screen televisions which adorn the glittering towers soaring far above into the milky sky.

The value of celebrity is spiralling upwards here too—a lesson that has not gone unnoticed by British business as it prepares to mount its challenge against the rest of the world at next year's Shanghai Expo, billed as the "Economic Olympics" and the largest commercial event ever staged. The shock troops for the UK's bid to forge still closer links with the soon-to-be No 2 global economy will, therefore, come not from the worlds of commerce, politics or even royalty but from sport, music and the arts.

Two permanent British pavilions, one representing Shanghai's long-standing twin city Liverpool, are setting out to stress creativity and modernity—things that China for all its vast physical resources are perceived to crave badly.

Two world-class orchestras—the London Symphony and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic—and the English National Ballet will be despatched to showcase Britain's cultural heritage in a country where interest in classical music and dance is growing rapidly. Talks are also under way to secure the involvement of the England footballer David Beckham and his wife Victoria, while it is hoped that at least one James Bond will be there, possibly the most celebrated 007 of all—Sir Sean Connery.

Meanwhile, literary events will focus not on Dickens or Shakespeare but on the phenomenal international allure of Harry Potter and the celebrity status of the boy wizard's British creator JK Rowling to help lure interest in the business leaders waiting patiently in the wings.

Mike Taylor, the creative director of Liverpool Shanghai 2010, believes Merseyside is well placed to exploit its footballing and musical fame with a series of interactive exhibits designed to appeal to the masses in a city which has already spawned its first Fab Four tribute act, and where the weekly vicissitudes of the Premiership are followed with a keen eye. Liverpool, the only UK city to stage a permanent presence at Expo 2010, has already been asked to draw on this venerable heritage to compose a theme song for the event and the Chinese would dearly love Sir Paul McCartney to swing by too.

"The Beatles are known across the world, as are Liverpool and Everton football clubs," Mr. Taylor said. "These have international recognition and huge fan bases. These will be our attack brands for promoting the wider values of Liverpool both its commerce and its cultural essence. We hope this will appeal to new audiences across these emerging markets," he added.

It is predicted that 70 million people will visit the Expo site in the six months after it opens in May, most of them from China itself. Research suggests that Merseyside alone could reap up to £55m from its involvement in the event through increased investment and tourism—a reasonable return on a £3m public-private outlay.

While no figures are available for the possible benefits to the wider UK economy, the calculation is that the Government-backed national UK pavilion, built and maintained at a cost of £24m, will earn Britain a still bigger slice of China's outward investment pie—valued in 2008 at $56bn.

Last week, the first of the 60,000 fibre-optic rods that will illuminate the futuristic "Seed Cathedral", sponsored by AstraZeneca (AZN), BP (BP), Barclays (BCS), Diageo (DEO) and GKN (GKN:LN), were being installed at the UK pavilion.