In less than 100 days Dubai and the other three competing cities will find out which bid to host the World Expo 2020 would be the successful one. The decision will be made by the Bureau International des Expositions General Assembly in November 2013.
Voting for the winning bid will take place on November 27 when all representatives from the 167 member nations of the BIE will choose from one of the four candidates – Dubai, Sao Paulo, Izmir, and Yekaterinburg. The competing cities will close up with their final stage of the bidding process, the Theme Symposiums, hosted by each one of them. Dubai’s Expo 2020 theme is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” with three sub themes – mobility, sustainability and opportunity, which according to Dubai’s team, stay behind the world development. The Symposium is planned to showcase BIE delegates why Dubai is the readiest of the cities for such a big event – its existing infrastructure, crucial developed sectors of the economy, its status as a global transport and connectivity hub, as well as the hospitality and tolerance of its people.
If Dubai’s bid is successful this will be the first time the World’s Fair has been hosted in the Middle East. Representatives of Dubai’s team believe that the massive event will attract as many as 25 million visitors and more than 70 percent of them will probably come from abroad. According to study by Oxford Economics, nearly 300,000 jobs will created directly and indirectly from a possible Dubai Expo. This will be a great boost to the city’s economy, say experts.
An interesting fact is that a Expo 2020 in the emirate would take place exactly on the day of the UAE’s 50th Anniversary, combining the two events in one huge celebration across the country. The event is believed to be a momentous happening for the region. First, this will be the largest world exposition within the MENA, and of course, it will have a great impact on both economy and culture.
