Similar to how 2008 Beijing Olympic Games put the Chinese capital in the international spotlight, Shanghai's hosting of the World Expo has given the city of 20 some million people and China a chance to showcase its emergence as a global economic power.
VOA: standard.2010.05.02
When a director is the first to emerge from his country into the worldspotlight, his films are often thought to embody a peculiar national spirit.
Given the time it would take to clear up any disaster, he says, Brazil may block BP or delay the offshore drilling as they are eager to avoid any catastrophe in 2014 and 2016 when the nation will be in the worldspotlight for the FIFA World Cup and the summer Olympics.