São Paulo – Dubai was chosen on Wednesday (27) to host the Expo 2020, the world science and culture exhibition, promoted every five years and taking place in the Middle East for the first time. In the vote promoted by the Bureau of International Exposition (BIE), in Paris, the city in the United Arab Emirates surpassed São Paulo, in Brazil; Izmir, in Turkey; and Yekaterinburg, in Russia.
The candidacy of São Paulo had just 13 votes and was eliminated in the first selection round. In the same rounds, Dubai got 77 votes, Yekaterinburg, 39, and Izmir, 33. In the second volte, the Turkish representative was eliminated, with 36 votes, against 87 to Dubai and 41 to the Russians, as well as one abstention. In the third round, Dubai won, with 116 votes to Yekaterinburg’s 47.
The World Fair lasts six months. There, in their pavilions, countries present innovative products, cultural tendencies, science and design, among others. For the first edition, promoted in 1851, in London, the palace was built in Hyde Park, the most famous park in the British capital. The telephone and television were exhibited as novelties in other editions of the universal expo. But the main legacy left by an edition of the event, the 1889 Expo, was the Eiffel Tower, one of the symbols of Paris. It was built for the exhibition.
Dubai should turn approximately US$ 7.5 billion to the Expo 2020, of which US$ 6 billion will be used in the organisation of the event, assembly of arena and in infrastructure. Expectations are to generate over 270,000 jobs in sectors like tourism, infrastructure, trade and services. The expectation of Dubai is to receive 25 million tourists during the Expo 2020 and up to US$ 20 billion in return of investment.
Under theme “connecting minds, creating the future”, the Expo begins on October 20, 2020 and ends on April 10, 2021. The winning city’s proposal is to organize the event focussing on innovations in three areas: mobility, sustainability and opportunity, in which the organizers propose to suggest proposals for new economic models which consider the exchange of cultures, technological progress and respect to sustainable development.
Under theme “the power of diversity, harmony for growth”, São Paulo bet on victory for revitalization of Pirituba, in the North of the city. The São Paulo City Hall’s proposal was to take to the neighbourhood a metro line, a train station, to build a new exhibition centre, hotels and access routes. The committee of São Paulo representatives was led by city mayor Fernando Haddad, in the company, among others, of former minister of culture and composer Gilberto Gil.
In a press conference in Paris, on Tuesday (26), Haddad said that he still believed that the São Paulo project was “technically” the best. “Our evaluation is that we did the best we could in the point of view of respecting the process, transparency of dialogue with countries and technical defence of the project,” said the mayor, recognizing, however, that all candidates were strong.
Izmir was running under theme “New routes for a better world/health for all”, with health and quality of life as the main points of the project. Yekaterinburg had proposal “Global minds”, which forecasted attracting ideas and projects for “sustainable globalisation”. Another city, Ayutthaya, in Thailand, was eliminated in the first phases of the process.
*Translated by Mark Ament