By Bahle Gama
SAUDI Arabia won the right to host the World Expo 2030 of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). The oil-rich country beat off competition from South Korea and Italy. It was a landslide victory, getting 119 votes while second-paced South Korea managed 29 votes with Italy getting 17.
The BIE is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions – expos, global and world expos. It oversees the calendar, bidding, selection, and organisation of World Expositions. According to a statement, the BIE also establishes a regulatory framework under which expo organisers and participants collaborate to facilitate the expos. With 170 member states, the BIE regulates two types of expositions registered Exhibitions also known as World Expos, and Recognised Exhibitions known as Specialised Expositions.
The BIE also establishes a regulatory framework under which Expo organizers and participants collaborate to facilitate the Expos and meets twice a year, in June and November. At the June General Assembly, bids are had for Specialized Expos, whilst in November, bids are made for contenders to host World Expos.
On June 21-22, bids to host the Specialized Expo were held in the BIE’s 172nd General Assembly in which member states bided. After four rounds of voting, a majority of Member States voted for Serbia’s project to organise the next Specialised Expo in the city of Belgrade under the theme “Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All”. It will be held between May 15 and August 15, 2027.
Five countries were in the race. These included the United States (Minnesota) with the theme “Healthy People, Healthy Planet: Wellness and Well-Being for All”; Thailand (Phuket) with the theme “Future of Life: Living in Harmony, Sharing Prosperity”, Spain (Malaga) with the theme “The Urban Era: towards the Sustainable City”; and Argentina (Bariloche) with the theme “Nature + Technology = Sustainable Energy. A viable future for humanity”.
At the 173rd General Assembly held on November 28 in Paris France, bids to host the World Expo 2030 were made. Three projects were considered by the Assembly for the election of the host of the World Country Expo 2030. The proposed dates were May 1- October 31 2030.
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The candidates were Republic of Korea (for Busan) under the theme: ‘Transforming Our World, Navigating toward a Better Future’, Italy (for Rome) under the theme: ‘People and Territories: Regeneration, Inclusion and Innovation’, and Saudi Arabia (for Riyadh) under the theme: ‘People and Territories: Regeneration, Inclusion and Innovation’.
According to the Ridah Expo website, vision 2030 is the roadmap for a journey focused on nurturing a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. “Riyadh Expo 2030 will be a perfect occasion for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to share the story of an unprecedented national transformation with other nations and the global public.”
Riyadh is expecting 246 participants including country pavilions, international organisations, and non-official participants, 40 million site visits, and one billion metaverse visits.