by Jürgen Dieckert, Jürgen Koch, Christian Wopp

For the first time, sport is taking part in a world exposition with future designs. A series of concepts and realisation proposals have been submitted to the EXPO company in Hanover for a decision. Particularly innovative is the "fatigue reduction concept" developed at the University of Oldenburg, which can be transferred to trade fairs, museums and city centres after EXPO 2000.

In the 150-year history of world expositions, which began in London in 1851, sport has only appeared twice in the context of world expositions: in Paris in 1900 and in St. Louis in 1904. Both times, however, the Olympic Games, which were still in their infancy, were lost in the shuffle of the world exhibitions. They have been held separately ever since. Only in Seville in 1992 did the Spaniard Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), have an IOC pavilion erected, as the Olympic Games were being held in Barcelona in the same year.

Sport and EXPO? - Sport at the EXPO? - For the year 2000, the German Sports Confederation and the National Olympic Committee have decided to participate in the general theme of "Man-Nature-Technology" at EXPO 2000 in Hanover. This is the first time in the 150-year history of world expositions that sport has offered to take part in an EXPO with concepts for the future.

However, ATP tennis tournaments or other show events organised by sport before or on the occasion of the EXPO are not contributions from sport! They were and are organised by the EXPO organisers for advertising purposes. They have no connection with the general EXPO theme of "Man-Nature-Technology".

In contrast, the German Sports Federation (DSB) has prepared a series of contributions that are directly related to the EXPO theme in Hanover. Firstly, there is a development concept for the "play, exercise and sports infrastructure" for the model EXPO housing estate on Kronsberg, which was developed in Oldenburg. For the EXPO theme park, there is the concept of an "exercise and health landscape" focussing on "mobility" and "health", developed from the cooperation between Oldenburg and Frankfurt am Main. Preparations are underway for the week-long "World Festival of Traditional Games and Movement Cultures", those games and sports that have not made it to the Olympics and World Championships. A World Youth Festival with a World Youth Camp Sport is being planned, organised by the Lower Saxony Sports Youth. In addition, an EXPO workshop on the conceptual design of an IOC pavilion has already taken place, prepared and supported by the NOC and DSB. However, all of these projects are still at the planning stage. Only some decisions have already been made by EXPO GmbH. Everything essentially depends on financial viability. And this also includes the "Oldenburg fatigue reduction concept", which has been submitted to the EXPO management for a decision on nationwide implementation.

The "Oldenburg fatigue reduction concept" presented here is the result of many years of interdisciplinary collaboration between sports science and sports facility construction. One tangible product of this collaboration is, for example, the Oldenburg university sports facilities, which were created in line with human-ecological principles. They were developed with the aim of achieving a holistic sense of well-being and in the spirit of "sport for all".

The same basic idea forms the basis of the concept for EXPO 2000: "Play and exercise areas for well-being". After all, the problem of visiting trade fairs and museums is well known: after just one or two hours, your feet start to hurt and your head starts to buzz from the sensory overload. - This raises questions about the causes and forms of this fatigue and exhaustion as well as ways to revitalise and regain a sense of well-being. How can this be achieved?

The well-known phenomenon of fatigue is the subject of scientific research, particularly in the fields of occupational physiology and industrial psychology. Despite a variety of fatigue theories, a distinction is made between physical fatigue and mental fatigue. Both are considered to be the result of excessive physical and/or mental strain with a reduction in performance and function. In physical terms, it manifests itself in muscular and coordinative impairments through to cardiovascular disorders. From a psychological point of view, they are characterised by impaired reception and perception, a reduction in attention and concentration, a decline in activity and interest, the development of listlessness and irritability and even disruption of social relationships. In principle, it can be assumed that physical and mental fatigue interact. Work breaks were introduced and enshrined in law to compensate for and restore performance.

No scientific studies are available on fatigue among visitors to trade fairs, exhibitions, museums, etc. However, the phenomenon of fatigue with symptoms similar to those in the world of work is well known and is also deplored. Similarly, there are no concepts for refreshing and regenerating visitors. Only sparsely placed seating and the provision of cafeterias, sausage stands etc. are partial and inadequate solutions to the problem.

Why does fatigue occur so quickly? If one assumes a holistic "body-mind-spirit model" of the human being, many experiences in daily life confirm that one-sided strain has a consequential effect on the human system as a whole. In the case of visits to trade fairs, exhibitions, museums, etc., two different types of one-sided stress occur in mutually dependent interaction:

- from a physical-motor point of view, primarily due to faltering walking and standing while waiting in often overheated and frequently poorly ventilated functional spaces;

- in cognitive-psychological terms, through a one-sided receptive overload of stimuli and information, resulting in a reduction of attention and perception to passive consumer behaviour.

The noticeable consequences are usually specific physical exhaustion and even headaches as well as psychosocial apathy and listlessness. Why? Because the usual conception of trade fairs, exhibitions, museums and city centres is based on a reduced anthropological model of the human being, who is only a "head" and whose body should only function as an "instrument of locomotion". But reducing physical exertion while at the same time placing excessive strain on receptive stimulus absorption inevitably leads to breakdowns and various forms of exhaustion.

Based on a holistic anthropological model, the Oldenburg fatigue relief concept offers trade fairs, exhibitions, museums, etc. the opportunity to relieve the stresses and strains that lead to fatigue relief. In this way, the implementation of the fatigue relief concept fulfils a threefold purpose: 1. it enables "places of meaningfulness" through the activation of one's own senses and through unusual experiences that help visitors to experience both the EXPO and themselves more intensively and consciously and thus to gain lasting positive impressions.

2. it also offers "places of recreation" for overworked, tired, exhausted exhibition visitors with a wide variety of offers for revitalisation, for satisfying natural elementary needs and for activating neglected perceptual functions.

3. it also creates "places of reminder" for the holistic nature of human beings, emphasising the diversity of play and movement needs and warning against one-sided strain. Humans are also homo ludens and homo movens, not just homo faber or homo technicus!

The concept of fatigue relief integrates perfectly into the EXPO theme "Man-Nature-Technology". After all, it is about the tension between nature, technology and basic human needs - and thus about finding the right balance between the rights of nature and the possibilities of technology. Any "rape" of nature by technology diminishes human existence. A purely techno-centred EXPO 2000 will disrupt the nature-oriented performance and needs structure of EXPO visitors.

The "fatigue reduction concept" has a special innovative long-term significance due to its transferability after EXPO 2000 to future trade fairs, exhibitions and museums. Furthermore, it is also suitable for humanising city centres that are dominated by consumerism.

The fatigue relief concept focuses on the "break" required during a visit to EXPO 2000 as a time between various one-sided stresses and strains and provides relief for these interim periods by offering activities or calming relaxation situations. Outside of the times spent visiting and staying at the EXPOnats, there will be three typical "in-between times":

- Intermediate times of walking (from one place and event to another);

-Waiting times (in front of exhibition areas if the number of visitors is likely to be too high);

- resting times (after a strenuous visit to individual exhibition areas).

A system of differently designed and staffed spaces and experiences will be assigned to these time periods, consisting of three types of offerings: "paths", "stations", "oases":

All major transport routes within the EXPO site are intended to provide a variety of experiences in addition to their access function, but without impeding the smooth flow of traffic even at times of high visitor density. With this in mind, a distinction is made between two types of routes:

- Experience offers on paths that are also suitable for "strolling", "strolling" or "strolling" due to their width and equipment.

- Distracting and curiosity- arousing experience offers along or on the path would not be perceived as a disturbance, but on the contrary as an enrichment ("the path as a destination").

- Experience offers on paths with adjoining "niches" that invite visitors to "stop" and "linger" for a short time by offering a variety of experiences.

The motif of 'change of location' and 'locomotion' is complemented by opportunities along the way for playing, balancing, swinging, swinging or resting, taking a breather, etc. ("The path with partial destinations"). ("The path with partial destinations").

Due to the large number of visitors to the EXPO site, there will be traffic jams and long queues at the entrances to attractive exhibition and event areas. Experience has shown that these are associated with discomfort and stress for visitors ('standing in line', 'crowding', 'feelings of impatience and lost time'). In order to avoid both the physical stress of standing and the psycho-social stress factors in these waiting situations or to reduce them to a tolerable level, the "Stations" offer the following complementary individual programmes:

- Designing the waiting areas in front of or next to the entrances of attractive EXPOnats in a way that stimulates play, movement and perception, going beyond the installation of barriers, information boards and guide rails;

- Distracting, time-bridging demonstrations and hands-on activities using animators;

- Use of media to entertain and activate waiting visitors (alternatives to purely passive media consumption)

Due to the expected high density of visitors and the wide variety of offerings on the EXPO site, many visitors will become exhausted after a certain period of time and feel the need to take longer refreshment breaks - preferably shielded from the hustle and bustle on the paths and in the restaurant or snack zones. The concept offers "oases" for various locations in the exhibition grounds (in the outdoor area and within selected exhibition halls), whose relaxation and revitalisation offerings ideally represent a combination of physical experiences that emphasise rest, action and perception. With this in mind, a distinction is made between the following oasis zones:

- "Zones of calm/silence", which offer visitors various opportunities for relaxation and tranquillity. The experience is focussed on offers with or without acoustic or visual relaxation stimuli.

Zones of activity", which contain offers for intensive full-body activities. Play zones and innovative strength and fitness stations are planned.

-Zones of the senses" with stimulating and revitalising perception offers. Different ways of experiencing the senses (for eyes, ears, nose, hands, feet ...) offer visitors the chance to get to know themselves in an unusual way.

A "red thread" is intended to connect the thematic focal points of the experience at the paths, stations and oases. For this purpose, the ribbon was selected, which is understood both as a metaphor and as a concrete means of play and design. Ribbons are known worldwide as play and sports equipment and, despite their simple and inexpensive manufacture, offer a wide range of possible uses. The range of possible uses for ribbons begins with small rubber bands that can be used to play with the fingers, extends to medium-sized ribbons, e.g. for jumping rope ('rope skipping'), large ropes for balancing, climbing or swinging and ends with large tubes that can be walked through as if in a tunnel (example: 'time travel').

Different materials and shapes can be used (natural material, plastic, rubber, wire ropes, tubes, treadmills, etc.). If ribbons are knotted together, net structures are created. Networks should therefore be experienced in many ways, not only symbolically (Internet, Socionet etc.), but also animatively and actively. All in all, this creates a network of "fatigue-relief offers" on paths, at stations and in oases.

Incidentally, part of the idea is that all visitors receive a coloured rope about one metre long as a gift as soon as they enter the EXPO site, so that they can actively participate in stimulating forms of play and movement and possibly even make connections!

The authors

The authors have been working together in research, development and consultancy projects on "leisure and health sports" since the 1970s. They are currently involved in various EXPO projects. Prof Dr Jürgen Dieckert, sports scientist, has been teaching and researching in Oldenburg since 1968. He is one of the pioneers of recreational sports development. He has been President of the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) since 1990 and EXPO representative of the German Sports Federation and the National Olympic Committee (NOK) since 1995. Jürgen Koch, architect and urban planner, was involved in the "Leisure Sports Pilot Project" at the University of Oldenburg and was instrumental in developing the concept for the university's sports facilities. He has been working as a freelance architect in Oldenburg since 1984, specialising in "human-ecological leisure and sports facility development" and "play and sport in urban areas". Prof. Dr Christian Wopp, sports scientist at the University of Osnabrück, was head of university sports at the University of Oldenburg from 1976 to 1996 and developed it as a model for recreational sports. He is a sought-after expert on the future problems of sport.