Week 43: Berlin 2035 – Henning Wehmeyer on Music, Global Goals, and the World Expo

Berlin 2035 – Music, Global Goals, and the Vision of a World Expo
In this episode of Plus Forty Nine, we speak with Henning Wehmeyer,
Managing Director of EXPO 2035 Berlin GmbH, about the bold idea of
bringing the World Expo back to Germany this time to Berlin. From
the city’s open-air pianos symbolizing the UN’s 17 Sustainable
Development Goals to the concept of a multi-centric expo that
stretches across neighborhoods rather than staying confined to a
single site, Henning shares how Berlin’s story of transformation
from division to diversity could become a global stage for
cooperation. We explore how Expo 2035 aims to connect local
projects with international dialogue, why civil society is driving
the bid, and how Berlin can inspire solutions for sustainability,
mobility, health, and peace. Along the way, Henning reflects on
music as a universal connector, the lessons of past Expos, and the
message he hopes to pass on to his children: that diversity,
openness, and small steps can create big change.