Once upon a time! Lili was not only the mascot of Expo.02, she also experienced exciting adventures with her friend Cantor.

Lili and the World of Amber tells the story of a little girl called Lili and her friend Cantor, a beetle that has lived in an amber pebble for thousands of years. Cantor has always been considered a lucky charm, passed from hand to hand. From its pebble, the beetle has watched over the lives of hundreds of people, famous or anonymous. Perhaps it even belonged to a member of your family?

One day, a terrifying monster moves into the flat above Lili. Its name is Wolör. It places its snout on the heads of passers-by and sucks something out of them. But what is it? Lili starts to investigate. Finally, Lili enters Cantor's pebble. The little girl realises that there is a whole world of heroes, cities and strange places hidden there.

Lili: refreshingly inspiring

She was cheeky, funny and incredibly curious. And she asked countless questions - about the world, about Switzerland and about Expo.02. One person always knew the answer: Cantor, the beetle that emerged from an amber stone. The then seven-year-old Lili, who incidentally listened to Eskimo songs and whose favourite colour was orange (the only colour you can eat), always carried it around with her. And it was a good idea. Because the beetle protected her from Wolör, the thief who was out to get Lili into trouble and steal her dreams.

Lili turned eight years old on 16 May 2002 - just the day after the opening of Expo.02. She was born in 1994, when the idea of a national exhibition began to develop in the Three Lakes Region.

Eight figures and five Arteplages

So there is Lili and Cantor and there is Wolör - and there are five other figures. Each one represents an arteplage and each one is absolutely unbeatable in a particular game. For this reason, the five characters are also called champions:

Big Boss (Arteplage Biel-Bienne) is the queen of chess
Max (Arteplage Murten-Morat) is the master of dice and puzzle guessing
Natan (Arteplage Neuchâtel) is the champion of video games
Yolanda (Arteplage Yverdon-les-Bains) is the kite-flying champion
Jo (Arteplage Mobile du Jura) is unbeatable at card games

Concept
Eugène & Bertola

Design
Gregory Gilbert-Lodge, Zurich www.gilbert-lodge.com
Tronics Animated Design (deleted) (Marco Fischer, Fabian Gasser), Zurich