20 Francs Expo.02

Expo.02 was Switzerland's national exposition held across four artificial islands — the "Arteplages" — constructed on Lakes Neuchâtel, Biel, and Murten. The event ran from May to October 2002 and drew roughly ten million visitors, a remarkable figure for a country of Switzerland's population. Swissmint issued this commemorative to coincide with the exposition, which had itself been delayed twice from an original 1998 planned opening after severe cost overruns and organizational collapse nearly cancelled the project entirely.