Saudi Arabia wins bid to host World Expo 2030

PARIS: Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh won the right to host the Expo 2030 World Fair, vote results showed on Tuesday, in another diplomatic victory for a Gulf country after the Qatar soccer World Cup last year.

Riyadh won 119 votes, South Korea’s Busan 29 and Italy’s Rome 17, results from 182 members of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) showed.

Under the theme “The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow,” the Riyadh Expo will take place from October 2030 to March 2031.

The date of World Expo 2030 is also hugely symbolic as it coincides with the key milestone in the Vision 2030 programme of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, to diversify Saudi Arabia economically and also culturally.

“We had a fantastic team of ministers going around the world, engaging our counterparts in a very, very active way to understand what they expected, what they were looking for and what we should deliver in order to gain their trust,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said.

The Saudi plan includes a major public transit network and a futuristic space meant to show “the vision of the country to pioneer a sustainable future for cities and their communities.”

The World Expo — which traces its history back to the 1851 Great Exhibition in London and the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris that saw the construction of the Eiffel Tower — is a months-long showcase event attracting millions of visitors that aims to respond to the specific challenges of the current time.

Hosting the Expo is of immense importance for Saudi Arabia whose bid has been spearheaded by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he seeks to secure the world’s top events to showcase the kingdom across the globe.

The kingdom is set to host the 2034 football World Cup after emerging as the only bidder for the event and is already welcoming a host of motor-racing, golf and combat sports events.