British firms have been handed £1.2billion in contracts to help Dubai host an historic Expo later this year.

Companies from the Eden Project designer Grimshaw Architects to outsourcing giant Serco have been brought in by Expo 2020’s organisers to help build the infrastructure needed for the vast exhibition.

Dubai, which won the right to host the every five-year event, said Expo 2020 will focus on ‘sustainability, mobility and opportunity’.

In an effort to appear ‘woke’ to environmental risks, the Expo’s sustainability pavilion will feature a model of a deep-sea fish called Gnasher (pictured) whose body is clogged with discarded plastic.

The event – which will run from October until April 2021 – will feature 39,000 firms from 150 countries. British architects Foster and Partners, which built the Millennium Bridge, will design the sustainability pavilion.

And Dartford-based construction firm Laing O’Rourke won a £130million contract to build two more pavilions and other infrastructure. Outsourcer Serco has bagged a £140million contract to operate and maintain the Dubai Metro during the event.