SHANGHAI - The Shanghai World Expo will stage more than 20,000 performances by Chinese and foreign artists during the 184-day event that starts May 1, an Expo spokesman said Monday.

Related readings:  Security guards to monitor buses during 2010 Expo  Biggest Mona Lisa mosaic unveiled at Expo  Police quash online rumors over Expo curfew for expats

Some 17,300 performances of 807 shows, selected from more than 10,000 candidate programs worldwide, have been included in the Expo's program, Hu Jingjun, deputy head of the Expo Bureau's coordination department, said when releasing an initial event listing.

The Expo Bureau expects the total number of performances to be more than 20,000 by the end of the expo, Hu said, meaning more than 100 performances on average will be given at the Expo park everyday.