Expo 2020 Dubai, also known as Dubai Expo 2020, is a World Expo event being hosted by Dubai, UAE.
What is a World Expo?
A World Expo, or World Fair, is an international exhibition that is held in some specified location, usually for a period of three to six months. It’s objective is to showcase the achievements of different countries and to introduce these inventions to the world.
How did Dubai become the host of World Expo 2020
In early 2011, Izmir, a city in Turkey, and Ayutthaya, Thailand, started to make bids for the position of host city for Expo 2020 to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). This opened the six-month time-frame for other cities to submit bids for this position before the voting started.
By the time that the time for bidding ended on 2nd November 2011, five cities, including: Izmir, Turkey; Ayutthaya, Thailand; Yekaterinburg, Russia; São Paulo, Brazil; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE); had made bids to host the event. However, due to technicalities, Thailand had to be dropped, and only four cities made it to the voting.
The themes that had been submitted by the four cities were: “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” with sub-themes “Sustainability” “Mobility” and “Opportunity” by Dubai, “The Global Mind” by Russia, “New Routes to a Better World / Health for All” by Turkey, and “Power of Diversity, Harmony for Growth” by Brazil.
During the voting, São Paulo lost in the first round, with Izmir being eliminated in the second. Yekaterinburg got knocked off the list in favor of Dubai during the third round of voting.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said:
“In today’s highly interconnected world, a renewed vision of progress and development based on shared purpose and commitment is key. While a married human mind, an individual country, or a specific community is both unique and remarkable, it is by working collaboratively that we truly advance.”
On 27th November 2013, the BIE reached a conclusion and the General Assembly in Paris announced Dubai as the rightful host for the World Expo 2020.
When is Expo 2020 Starting?
Expo 2020 is supposed to start on 20th October 2020 and go on for 173 days, which would mean that it is set to end on 10th April 2021.
Who is participating in Expo 2020
135 countries have announced that they will be participating in Expo 2020, including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, China, Israel, and others.
While on the topic of Israel, in November 2019, the government of the UAE made a decision and gave Israeli passport holders permission to enter the city for Expo 2020, and even visit the rest of UAE later on.
Themes of Expo 2020
The three sub-themes, “Sustainability”, “Mobility” and “Opportunity”, each has a separate pavilion, each designed by a separate architectural firm.
The pavilion for the theme “Sustainability” is being designed by Grimshaw Architects, an architectural firm with headquarters in London, UK.
“Mobility” is to be designed by another firm with headquarters in London, called Foster and Partners.
The third pavilion, “Opportunity”, has been undertaken by Australia based company Cox Architecture.
How Expo 2020 will affect the jobs in Dubai?
The staging and organizing of the event and the preparations leading up to it are expected to result in 277,000 new jobs in the United Arab Emirates, an increase of almost $40 billion in the economy, and an escalation in visitors of at least 25 million, possibly 100 million.
You can click here to view all the jobs available on the official Expo 2020 Dubai website.
Photo credit: Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels
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