Dubai is all set to host the most prestigious World Expo in 2020, a giant international event that will serve to augment the city’s economy, tourism & hotel industries and further strengthen Dubai’s status as a global hub of opportunity. Under the theme slogan ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, the Emirate is the very first in the Middle East to host the World Expo. It is poised to bring an expected 25 million people to the city during the period of 6 months of the event and will certainly have a huge impact on Dubai’s economy, with the tourism, hotel, b2b ecommerce wholesale markets among the top sectors set to profit.
Arrangements are already well in progress as Dubai gears up to host the World Expo 2020, which experts say will increase the city’s economy by an astounding $23 billion. An expo is the large-scale public exhibition focused around a central theme that allows countries to come together in the same physical space. The World Expo is an international event that takes place in an elected host city every 5 years. It serves a major meeting point for new advancements and ideas, as well a platform for social, economic, and sustainable development.
In 1851, the very first World Expo was held in London, United Kingdom. Since then it has grown in importance as well as stature to become of one the largest global events, attracting millions of people, countries, companies, NGOs, etc from around the world to the host city every five years. Each one serves as a major catalyst for economic growth in its selected location, which is why the World Expo proves to create such major competition in the bid to triumph the rights to host this historic event. In the past, world expos have witnessed the basis for the launch of many inventions as well as innovations, from the first sewing machine in London in 1862 to brought the world the iconic Eiffel Tower in 1889. Since the first World Fair in the 19th century, Expos have been events of historical significance.
Some past world expo inventions include:
The World Expo in Dubai in 2020 will be the first to be held in the MEASA (Middle East, Africa and South Asia) region from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021. The theme of Dubai’s World Expo “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” echoes the spirit of partnership and co-operation that has driven the UAE’s growth and success in revolutionary new paths of development as well as innovation. Through this beautiful theme, Expo 2020 Dubai will serve as a catalyst, involving minds from around the world and stimulating people to mobilize around shared challenges. It will be a World Expo of unprecedented universal scope, under the sub-themes of Opportunity, Mobility & Sustainability. On 27 November 2013, when Dubai won the rights to host the most prestigious expo 2020, fireworks erupted at the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa was given the name ‘Burj 2020’ in honor of the World Expo 2020.
Under the sub-themes Opportunity, Mobility & Sustainability, World Expo 2020 will inspire speakers, participates and visitors to think the future and how we can all make a difference. Perhaps the site for World Expo 2020 will be renamed Dubai Trade Center – Jebel Ali, a 438-hectare site is one of the largest sites proposed for a World Expo and among the most impeccably accessible, reflecting the Dubai Expo 2020 theme of ‘connectivity’. Its strategic location, intermediate between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, offers the best possible operational as well as logistical efficiencies for the participants bringing in materials for their pavilions and exhibitions and also easy access for the estimated 25 million visitors. Located next to the Dubai World Central Airport and within a 15-minute proximity to Jebel Ali Port, the biggest container port between Singapore and Rotterdam, the site permits for easy transit between ports and airports – a significant consideration for prospective Expo participants.
The three main zones will each symbolize one of the event’s sub-themes of opportunity, mobility, and sustainability. The central plaza, using a historical name for Dubai, ‘Al Wasl’, which means the connection, will hold presentations as well as discussions to promote innovation and collaboration.
Following the event, Dubai Trade Center – Jebel Ali will keep on as a working monument; the site will be used as a university and research center.