6.12 PM Thursday, 28 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:57 06:11 12:27 15:53 18:37 19:51
28 March 2024

Expo 2020: Dubai emerges strongest contender as Thailand bows out

Published
By Vicky Kapur

With less than six months to go until the BIE General Assembly in November, when the crucial vote will take place to decide the winning host city for World Expo 2020, Dubai is emerging as the leading contender for hosting the prestigious event.

For its bid to host the 2020 World Expo in Dubai, the UAE has selected the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.

“We want to host Expo 2020 – a global event in which the cultures, innovations and creations of the world will meet in Dubai. We want to welcome more than 25 million people during six months, so they can see the best of what the human mind can achieve across cultures and races. We want to host the greatest minds in the world to share innovative solutions for global challenges that cannot be dealt with in isolation,” says His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.

“Expo 2020 will bring together expert thinkers to share inventive ways to deal with pressing issues such as energy and water. Great minds will also come together to share smart solutions for transportation, sustainability and global economic stability. When we proposed to host the world’s biggest cultural event, we promised to astonish the world. Today we pledge to breathe life into our slogan: We will bring minds together for a better future,” Sheikh Mohammed says, explaining the vision behind the slogan.

Brazil, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates had all officially bid to host Expo 2020 by the November 2, 2011, deadline. Yesterday, Thailand’s Ayutthaya withdrew its bid for Expo 2020. A decision will be made by the BIE General Assembly in November 2013.

The World Expo is one of the largest global, non-commercial events in terms of economic and cultural impact, after the Fifa World Cup and the Olympic Games.

“If Dubai is successful in its bid, the Expo will attract opportunities not only for Dubai and the UAE, but across the region and the world,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the UAE’s Higher Committee on Hosting the World Expo 2020.

Sheikh Ahmed said that the total economic impact of the Expo would be huge. “The total economic output across Dubai economy would amount to €28.8 billion,” he said, adding that “more than 277,000 jobs will be added to the economy” for the Expo itself.

“More importantly,” he said, “for every one expo employee, there will be 50 additional jobs sustained across the Mena region and the Indian subcontinent.”

Sheikh Ahmed said that the Expo would provide a “significant boost to not just the national GDP, but also leave a lasting legacy for a generation to come in the UAE and the wider region and the world.”

He said that the total economic impact of the Expo would be huge. “The total economic output across Dubai economy would amount to €28.8 billion,” he said, adding that “more than 277,000 jobs will be added to the economy” for the Expo itself.

Sheikh Ahmed made these comments earlier this year during the Bureau International des Expositions’ (BIE) Enquiry Mission. At that time, Steen Christensen, Chairman of BIE’s Enquiry Mission to the UAE and delegate on behalf of Denmark, had lauded the UAE’s bid and efforts and had noted that the “BIE Enquiry Mission is impressed with the robust infrastructure and the level of public support for the bid.”

He added: “The visit to Dubai has given me a very positive impression of the country and the people – in that regard, it has been a very good and enjoyful experience.” Vincent Gonzales Loscertales, Secretary-General of BIE and part of the Enquiry Mission, too said he was impressed by “the readiness and cooperation of the authorities” for the bid.

According to ExpoBids.com, which tracks the various bids for the BIE-sanctioned expo to be held in 2020, Dubai’s bid is the “best funded” among the candidate cities. “Sources seem to indicate that Dubai has one of the best chances of the five bids,” the website notes.

The most recent World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 was of great significance to China. As a showcase of what a modern city Shanghai had become, it was a considerable achievement on the soft diplomacy front for the Chinese as they gained international exposure and reached further out into the world.

The Expo involved 192 countries and 50 international organisations and was the most expensive in the history of World’s Fairs. By its end, a record 73 million people had visited. It cost 11.96bn yuan ($1.89bn) to run the event, but it made a profit of more than 1bn yuan ($158m).

Over 180 firms to support UAE's Expo 2020 bid campaign




'Dubai Expo 2020 will create 277,000 jobs'




UAE has all “credentials” to host Expo 2020