Over 140 million viewings, almost 17 thousand “likes” with hundreds of comments and lots of “duets” from every corner of the world: the video of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai lit up in the Italian tricolour relaunched on the TikTok profile of the Commissioner’s Office for Italy’s participation in Expo 2020 was greeted over the last 24 hours by a wave of affection, sympathy and gratitude which the users expressed towards the city that will host the Universal Exhibition from the forthcoming 20th October.

The video, on the notes of the song “Ti volevo dedicare” by Rocco Hunt, shows the famous Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper with its 829.80 metres and symbol of the United Arab Emirates, lit up in the colours of the Italian flag interspersed with the words “Siamo con voi” (We are with you). It was a sign of solidarity and friendship towards our country which was greeted with widespread participation by the young social media crowd worldwide.

With plenty of likes, viewings, comments and duets (the resubmission of a video by users who associate their message alongside the original video), the reception of the post is a tangible sign of the viral power of the new social media platform which the Commissioner’s Office wagered on, by opening an institutional profile last year – the only Expo Dubai participant and among the very first public administration bodies in Italy to do so.