São Paulo – This Monday (4) saw confirmation that Expo 2020 Dubai has been put off by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Two thirds of the member states of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which organizes the event, chose to postpone in an online vote. The World Expo had been slated to take place in Dubai, UAE from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
The move is designed to ensure public safety amid the novel coronavirus, and to buy more time so that the Expo can focus on the collective desire to showcase new ideas and seek solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our times. “Expo 2020 Dubai is gearing up to help shape a post-pandemic world and create a better future for all,” a BIE statement read.
The change of date will be officially approved on May 29. Expo 2020 Dubai will not have its name changed, and it “remains committed to hosting an exceptional event that will celebrate humanity’s resilience, creativity, culture and innovation – including major technological advances in the fields of medicine and science,” BIE said.
This will be the first World Expo ever in the Middle East, and the biggest event ever held in the Arab world. Expo 2020 will feature 192 countries, as well as businesses, multilateral organizations and educational establishments.
Twenty-five million people are expected to attend the six-month-long event, themed “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.” About 70% of that audience will be non-locals. Each day will see some 60 attractions, featuring music, technology, creativity and culture. The exhibition is intended to be a big meeting of the countries, their cultures and economies.
BIE secretary-general Dimitri S. Kerkentzes was quoted as saying he applauds “the swift response by BIE Member States. Their support for the postponement of Expo 2020 Dubai – which will be formally approved on 29 May – is a renewed sign of solidarity and demonstrates the shared will to work together in ‘creating the future.’”
Kerkentzes also said that in supporting the one-year postponement of Expo 2020 Dubai, “Member States of the BIE are giving the world the opportunity to reconvene in 2021, when together, we can address the challenges facing humanity and celebrate the unity and solidarity that strengthen us.”
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
