What the Expo 2020 site looks like right now – we take a bus tour

October 2020 will be here before we know it, and many UAE residents don't yet know what they can actually expect from Expo 2020.

We all know that it is expected to attract millions of guests to the city, 25 million to be precise, and that countries from around the world will be represented at their own pavilions at Expo 2020, but it is difficult to grasp the sheer size and magnitude of the project when you just read about it in black and white.

Cue the Expo 2020 site bus tour. This summer, residents and tourists can tour the Dubai construction site as it grows, in free open top, double decker bus tours.

This week we took one of the first tours of the site, to see exactly what guests can expect.

Disclaimer: it is hot. When taking an open-top bus tour of the UAE in the middle of the summer, high temperatures shouldn't really come as a surprise, especially for passengers who opt to sit in the outside section of the top deck.

Even though three quarters of the bus is inside and air conditioned, the double decker can still get very warm inside. However, guests taking the tours will be given a choice between the picture-perfect open top bus, or a more generously air conditioned coach, according to one member of the Expo 2020 staff we chatted to.

The tour will give you some perspective of the magnitude of the Expo 2020 site.

You meet in the visitors centre, where you can walk around a mini-Expo 2020 museum, of sorts, which introduces you to the three distinct districts – Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability – and what visitors can expect to see in each.

When the tour begins, the expert tour guide will talk you through the progress of the site: we were impressed to see just how far along some of the permanent structures are, as well as infrastructure like the roads and bridges.

You will get a good insight into the development of Al Wasl Plaza, the heart of the Expo 2020 site, as well as the new and enormous Dubai Exhibition Centre and the progress of the UAE's country pavilion.

The hubs for each of the districts are also making impressive headway. The Sustainability pavilion is taking shape, as is the Mobility pavilion. Interestingly, when Expo 2020 has finished in April 2021, it is hoped that the Sustainability pavilion, known as Terra, will become a permanent science museum.

If your preconception of Expo 2020 is an international trade and business show, think again. Much of the conversation on the tour focused on the expected entertainment. There will be massive parks, shopping areas and plenty of food and drink to try from around the world.

The tour team also teased that there will be exciting musical acts. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but it sounds like some major talent could be on its way to the city; our tour guide asked who we'd like to see come to the UAE to perform at Expo 2020, before telling the crowd that he would like to see Beyonce, so if that is anything to go on, set your standards high.

We have mentioned that the tour kicks off at the Expo 2020 Visitor's Centre, and for those interested it is well worth making time to fully explore the centre. It starts with a visual history of the emirate of Dubai, before introducing guests to what they can expect from each of the three districts and some of the experiences that will be available. There is also a slide in the centre.

Most interesting of all is the room dedicated to Expo inventions of the past, the fact that everything from tomato ketchup and ice cream cones, and X-ray machines and mobile phones were first introduced to the public at past World Expos. We wonder what will be introduced to the world in 2020?