by Elizabeth Pineau
PARIS (Reuters) – The organization of the 2030 Universal Exhibition was granted on Tuesday to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, announced the International Exhibition Bureau (BIE) following a vote by its delegates near Paris.
Rome and Busan, in South Korea, were also in the running to succeed Dubai, host of the 2020 edition, and Osaka, which will host the global event organized every five years in 2025.
The kingdom won in the first round with 119 votes against 29 for Busan and 17 for Rome.
“I think this is an expression of the confidence that the international community has in what we have to offer,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud told reporters at the Palace. conferences in Issy-les-Moulineaux, south of Paris.
Riyadh wants to organize the Exhibition between October 1, 2030 and March 31, 2031 and hopes to attract 40 million visitors, half of them foreigners, announces the press kit.
The petromonarchy of 36 million inhabitants plans the construction of more than 220 pavilions in the north of the city, one metro station from the airport.
“A different future”, “Climate action”, “Prosperity for all” are the themes announced for this Expo2030 “built by the world and for the world” according to one of the slogans of the Saudi candidacy, which made the subject of a poster campaign in Paris in recent days.
“MERCANTILE”
Giampiero Massolo, president of the Italian bid, expressed his disappointment at an “unexpected” result as Riyadh’s lead is so great, deploring the “mercantile” aspect of the competition.
“It is no longer a content battle, it is no longer a competition between projects, but a mercantile approach,” he told Reuters.
“Beyond Rome (…) I worry about the future of the international community,” he continued. “Yesterday is the Football World Cup, tomorrow it will be the Olympic Games. And sooner or later we are going to buy non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council. Do we really want that?”
Asked how to convince the delegates, the head of Saudi diplomacy spoke of convincing work encouraged by high authorities, starting with Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman.
“What we can do is engage and really what His Royal Highness… asked the team at the start is to engage with our partners. ‘Listen to them, understand what are their expectations from the Expo. Work with them to build your proposal on that basis,'” he said.
Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Saudi club Al-Nassr, recorded a message broadcast in a video shown to delegates just before the vote.
France announced last year that it would vote for Riyadh to the detriment of Rome, a European country.
The Saudis, who say they want to reduce their dependence on oil, are investing in tourism and industry through ambitious projects such as the city of the future Neom and the sustainable luxury real estate complex Red Sea Global.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, with Michel Rose and Manuel Ausloos; editing by Zhifan Liu)
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