São Paulo –São Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad bets on the transformation that Expo 2020 should generate for the city as the main appeal to host the event. On Monday (4), he said to foreign correspondents that São Paulo’s plan forecasts direct investment of US$ 3 billion in the exhibition and US$ 9 billion on infrastructure to be prepared in the region where the fair is going to take place, which should result in gains to the local population and to the entire city.
The four cities competing against São Paulo in this edition are Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates; Izmir, in Turkey; Ekaterinburg, in Russia; and Ayutthaya, Thailand. Between March 11th and 14th, delegates of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the organizer of the event, should visit São Paulo. They have already been to Izmir and Dubai. In June, representatives of all cities should visit Paris, where the BIE headquarters are, to defend their bids. The winner will be announced in November.
To receive the event, São Paulo should build an exhibition hall with several exhibition pavilions in Pirituba, in the Northern Zone of São Paulo, as well as a monotrail to the region, starting at Brasilândia metro station, which does not yet exist, and connecting to the future 6-Orange line. Also forecasted are hotels, a shopping centre, warehouses, a bus terminal and improvement in the transport system in the city. All works, according to Haddad, should interfere directly in the growth of São Paulo, as they will “decentralize” the city.
“If I were one of the BIE delegates, I would vote for São Paulo to host the Expo 2020. Here, visitation of millions of people is guaranteed as it is a metropolitan region with 20 million inhabitants. The city is strategically located, and Latin America has never received the event. It is an opportunity to leave a cultural and sustainable legacy,” said Haddad. Universal exhibitions take place every five years and last six months. They are non-commercial fairs that present projects on a pre-established theme.
The Universal Exhibition in Shanghai in 2010 focussed on theme "Better City, Better Life", with solutions presented by 239 cities for practices that may be adopted to improve the quality of life in cities. Due to the 2010 universal exhibition, Xangai received 73 million tourists. The next city to receive an edition of the Universal Exhibition should be Milan, in 2015.
Support
Haddad stated that São Paulo’s candidacy had the support of the state and federal government as well as that of the Latin American metropolises, which believe the event may also benefit other cities on the continent. The mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, should be in São Paulo on Tuesday (05) to strengthen the support of Latin American metropolises.
Haddad did not say where São Paulo’s strongest competition comes from, but said that the city has “strong chances” of hosting the event. “I don’t think that the resources a city has available to promote this event will determine victory. What the delegates want to know is whether the city can host a good event. We have good arguments to defend São Paulo,” he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
