The Expo 2012 Yeosu ended its 93-day run on Sunday, with the number of visitors exceeding the 8 million mark as targeted, the organizing committee said.

About 1,100 guests, including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, joined the closing ceremony held at the expo site in the nation’s southern costal town of Yeosu.

Over the past three months, the Yeosu Expo hosted 104 participating countries, 10 international organizations including the U.N. and seven conglomerates.

Dubbed the first-ever world fair held on water, the entire expo site for 80 exhibition halls stretched out alongside the sea, with some specially-themed exhibitions highlighting the importance of ocean protection.

The “Yeosu Declaration,” which was announced Sunday to complete the expo, will continue to seek sustainable development of the seas and oceans with the international community, the organizers said.

Despite early concerns over the lower-than-expected number of visitors following the opening in May, the figure started surging from July as the government lured vacationers with new ticket pricing and K-pop performances.

Organizers said Sunday that the most popular exhibition hall was the nation’s largest aquarium, which drew 2 million visitors, followed by the Theme Pavilion with 1.66 million and Korea Pavilion with 1.56 million.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)