TMS conceived the main show as a single, continuous spatial gesture: a “flying carpet” of moving images under a mirrored sky.

Visitors entered the belly of the ship and stepped onto a conveyor belt that followed the curve of the room, lifting them onto a bridge over a vast concave projection surface covering the entire 1,600 m² floor. Above, an oriental mirror mosaic on the ceiling multiplied the visuals into apparent infinity, dissolving clear boundaries of floor and wall.  

Twenty-five seamlessly blended HD projectors cast high-resolution imagery across the floor and lower walls, including sequences derived from IMAX material. Floral forms, calligraphic ornaments, urban vistas and desert landscapes flowed in choreographed cycles from the deepest point of the room outward, so that visitors never saw a static frame but a continuous transformation.

A bespoke orchestral score recorded with a 70-piece ensemble was mixed for the full volume of the space, aligning musical phrases with visual transitions to create a tightly integrated, cinematic environment.

‍

The visit unfolded as a slow, collective ride: standing on the moving floor, visitors glided above the “carpet”, surrounded by reflections from the mirrored ceiling and the glow of the images on the walls. The room felt both architectural and immaterial, as if suspended inside an endless sea of patterns and scenes.

Instead of a conventional narrative voice-over, the show relied on visual and musical dramaturgy. Shifts in color, tempo and motif guided perception from textures to wide aerial views, from heritage motifs to signals of technological progress. The main show functioned as a wordless, emotional introduction to Saudi Arabia for a highly diverse international audience, turning their short time in the pavilion into a memorable, physically felt sequence.

‍

Saudi Arabia wanted to move beyond a static national showcase and present a confident, contemporary image at the world’s largest EXPO to date. The pavilion architecture already made a strong statement: a ship’s hull resting on columns, its roof forming an oasis of palm trees above the exhibition spaces.

The challenge for the main show was to translate this ambition into an experience that felt both iconic and accessible. The space needed to speak to millions of international visitors each with only a few minutes inside, conveying beauty, pride and a sense of forward momentum without conventional exhibition displays or linear film screening.

‍