Dubai is among the five cities currently in fierce competition for winning the bid for the world’s largest exposition – World Expo 2020. Dubai, Izmir, Yekaterinburg, Sao Paulo and Ayutthaya will officially present their bids at a large event in Paris this Wednesday and everyone is holding their breath, which city will host World Expo 2020?
Most experts point out that Dubai and Sao Paulo are the biggest rivals in the competition and the emirate is rumored to have the best funded bid of all five. The theme of the city’s presentation is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” which expresses Dubai’s view for sustainable development, global connectivity and collaboration between nations. If the bid is successful, the huge event will provide various economic benefits, significantly boosting trade, investments, and employment market not only in the city, but within the larger MENASA region.
Being a global trade, business and travel hub, the City of Gold is a symbol of accessibility and connectivity and of shared knowledge and traditions. These, according to Reem Al Hashemi, UAE Minister of State and Managing Director of the UAE’s Higher Committee for Hosting the 2020 World Expo in Dubai, are some of the winning cards of the city. Dubai has another advantage – compared to the other cities, it has existing infrastructure required for such a large event. In addition to its good geographic location and connectivity, it has the greatest chances of meeting all the challenges. And Dubai’s own airline, Emirates Airline connects the city directly with 133 destinations, out of 220 cities across the world that have been linked to Dubai. In comparison, the other cities bidding to host the Expo don’t even have direct flights to any major destinations.
Why is that so important? The reason is the large number of visitors expected to arrive for the world’s fair. Dubai Expo 2020 is believed to attract 25 million visitors, two-thirds of whom will be foreigners. This will lead to a direct and indirect impact on almost every sector of the economy, especially in travel, hospitality, trade, labor, retail, and services. Dubai will see even more infrastructure investments, further driving the labor market. Small and medium enterprises will also greatly benefit, having the opportunity to offer their product to larger markets.
