Dubai celebrates Expo 2020 win

Arabian Business staff writer, November 28th, 2013

Dubai was awarded the right to host the Expo 2020 event following a successful campaign that culminated in victory in Paris last night.

At the 154th Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the Gulf emirate defeated rival bids from Turkey’s Izmir, Brazil’s Sao Paolo and Russia’s Yekaterinburg following three rounds of closed voting.

Dubai led the race throughout, with Brazil’s Sao Paolo and Turkey’s Izmir were eliminated in the first and second rounds respectively. In the final round, Dubai received 116 votes from 168 BIE member nations, beating Russia’s Yekaterinburg. Victory was confirmed at around 8:30pm local time, leading to scenes of jubilation across the emirate. Its success was topped off with a stunning impromptu firework display in the environs of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

The result means that 2020 will mark the first time that the Expo – which is more than a century old and has been responsible for the launch of multiple inventions including the typewriter, tomato sauce and electricity – has been held in the Middle East.

Dubai's bid had been publicly backed by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, London Mayor Boris Johnson, former US president Bill Clinton, Canada, France and a number of international superstars.

Earlier in the day, UAE minister of state and managing director of the Dubai Expo 2020 bid committee Reem Al Hashimi gave an impassioned speech to the BIE in which she outlined the emirate’s case for hosting the event.

“We strive to present an unforgettable experience for Expo 2020 guests,” she said. "We will endeavour to give the world an exquisite and memorable Expo. We will give Expo 2020 the recognition it deserves."

About 25m tourists are expected to visit Dubai during the six-month event if it wins, while Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the emirate’s top financial official and a member of the Expo committee, said the emirate would invest $8.1bn in new infrastructure if it was successful in its bid to host Expo 2020.