World Expo 2020, Dubai, UAE | ExpatWoman.com
 

World Expo 2020, Dubai, UAE

Posted on

28 November 2013

Last updated on 14 January 2020
dubai wins exop 2020
 

World Expo 2020, Dubai, UAE

DUBAI HAS WON THE BID! Fantastic news!


The winner of the Expo 2020 was announced around 8:30pm UAE time
on Wednesday 27th November 2013.
  expo2020dubai.ae


The UAE Bid

The Burj Khalifa Dubai

Since submitting their bid in November 2011 to the Bureau International des Expositions and its 160 member states, the UAE has been a forerunner to host the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, expressed his support to host this global gathering and highlighted the theme of the country’s bid – “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. The five candidates to host Expo 2020 are Dubai (UAE), Ayutthaya (Thailand), Ekaterinburg (Russia), Izmir (Turkey), and Sao Paulo (Brazil). Following a vote by the 160 BIE member nations, the winning city will be announced in November 2013.

“In today’s highly interconnected world, a renewed vision of progress and development based on shared purpose and commitment is key. While a single human mind, an individual country, or a specific community is both unique and remarkable, it is by working collaboratively that we truly advance.

A World Expo in Dubai in 2020 would be the first to be held in the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) region. As the global community faces ever more complex, and increasingly interconnected challenges, the links between people, societies and ideas have never been more important. Dubai Expo 2020 will be a platform for connectivity to help pioneer new partnerships for growth and sustainability for the future”.

As the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan said: “Future generations will be living in a world that is very different from that to which we are accustomed. It is essential that we prepare ourselves and our children for that new world.”

As we face ever more complex challenges, which now go beyond national boundaries, the links between people, societies and ideas have never been more important. To realise this aspiration, the Dubai Expo 2020 will be a platform for connectivity to help pioneer new partnerships for growth and sustainability for the future.

Theme
It's predicted that some 70% of the expected 25 million visitors will originate from outside of the host nation. Dubai has long been a pioneer of new ideas and it's expected to make the Dubai Expo 2020 the most international event in the history of the Expo. Therefore providing a unique stage for the global community to come together and explore creative and pioneering solutions to the three sub themes, identified as key drivers of global development
 

Sustainability - lasting sources of energy and water

Mobility - smart systems of logistics and transportation

Opportunity - new paths to economic development

The focus will be on exploring their interdependencies and identifying potential partnerships, ultimately resulting in a legacy of innovation.
 

Where will the Expo be held?



With a successful bid, the Expo will be held at the Dubai Trade Centre in Jebel Ali which is conveniently well connected. The 438 hectare site is specially designed to offer an environment that will serve as a permanent attraction in the city, further contributing to Dubai's appeal to the world audience.

It will be constructed on the south western edge of the city, equidistant from the centres of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and will be located in close proximity to Jebel Ali Port, the third-busiest port in the world. The site will also have easy access to several of the city’s main expressways, including Sheikh Zayed Road and the Dubai Bypass Road. Importantly, Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel Ali will be located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport, the city’s second airport.

In 2011, more than 51 million passengers travelled through Dubai International Airport, where 150 airlines serve 220 destinations on six continents. Led by the success of Emirates Airline, the world’s fastest-growing airline, Dubai Airport is poised to become the world’s busiest international airport by 2015.

 

World Expo Fact...
Some 50 million visitors attended the 1900 World Expo in Paris, France, and marvelled at innovations such as escalators, diesel engines, Ferris wheels and talking films.
 

Expo Live



Bringing an expansive network of partners together from different countries along with an expansive network of partners to contribute expertise, visibility and access to markets and users. This will be showcased through seminars and working groups where countries and Expo Live partners can take and active role in shaping the Expo's agenda in Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity.

Expo Live combines the intellectual process of theme development with a practical exploration of countries’ best innovative projects and ideas from the earliest stages of Expo preparation. This will ensure high-quality and truly exceptional exhibitions, but also establish the basis for each country to develop new projects and start new collaborations.

Where will Expo Live be showcased in the Expo?
Expo Live will include a rich programme of events, meetings and workshops that run throughout the Expo preparation phase and continue during the Expo. Expo Live projects will also be showcased on the Dubai Expo 2020 site.

For the first time, the site for Dubai Expo 2020 will introduce a new type of exhibition and presentation spaces: the Innovation Pavilion and the Innovation Labs. These will showcase the projects and the solutions inspired and supported by Expo Live through its global and unprecedented seven years effort to encourage innovation.

These pavilions will be dynamic and thriving centres of activity during the Expo and will represent an important pole of attraction for both the communities of innovators as well as the general public.

How does Expo Live work?
Expo Live is an innovation and partnership programme that relies on four key components: workshops and events, challenges, funding and partnerships.

Workshops & Events:
Expo Live includes a rich and robust program of workshops, forums, conferences and meetings across the world to build awareness, to encourage knowledge sharing and to foster collaboration. They will take place over the course of the next seven years with the objectives of defining and prioritizing the Expo Challenges and of sharing on going projects and new solutions on a regular basis.

Expo Challenges:
Expo Live highlights key priorities common to all countries that drive progress and sustainable development: enhancing the mobility of people and goods (Mobility); ensuring the sustainability of resources such as energy and water (Sustainability); and creating the opportunity to expand the networks of ideas, information and financial capital that enable economic advancement (Opportunity).

Partnership Network:
A broad network, representing different geographies and sectors, will facilitate knowledge sharing and help uncover solutions and innovation potential. It will enable projects to reach beyond their normal geography and help them reach new communities seeking ideas and solutions.

Partnership fund:
The Expo Partnership Fund is a 100 million Euros fund to support Expo Live projects of different sizes and stages of development that can deliver new solutions in Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity. Application is open to applicants from every country.
 


 Why Dubai?



The UAE has long recognised the potential of the meetings, conferences and exhibitions industry, and has established a track record of successfully hosting world-class events on a global scale.

From 2006-2010, the country doubled the scale of its exhibition infrastructure. Now more than 1.5 million visitors travel to the UAE annually to take part in over 300 events, including more than 100 mega exhibitions and conferences. The industry is also a significant contributor to the UAE’s national economy, with meetings, conferences and exhibitions providing the second-highest level of GDP contribution of any country in the world.

With its unmatched infrastructure and connectivity, Dubai, in particular, continues to witness strong growth in the events sector. Last year, events held in the emirate witnessed a 14 per cent surge in visitor attendance and five per cent growth in exhibitor participation. During the same period, the Dubai World Trade Centre contributed 2.5 per cent to the city’s total GDP, positioning the events sector as a key contributor to Dubai’s growth.

Dubai world class events

High-profile events in Dubai include an earlier Annual Meeting of the IMF/World Bank, the biennial Dubai Airshow, a range of World Economic Forum Summits, the Dubai International Film Festival, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the Dubai World Championship (a US$7.5m golf tournament on The European Tour), the internationally renowned Dubai World Cup - and the Dubai Summer Surprises Festival, the largest event held in the Middle East region, attracting in excess of 2.2 million people.

Dubai is a cosmopolitan city that is inhabited by over 200 nationalities, Dubai is a melting pot of cultures and a meeting point for peoples from across the globe. Home to just over two million residents, two-thirds of the city’s population is between the ages of 20-39.

In line with the national focus on inclusiveness and openness, the city’s incredible diversity has long served as one of its great strengths - helping to attract the best minds from around the world, who are drawn to this meritocratic environment by the promise of great personal and professional opportunity - and supporting its on going economic growth and diversification.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi plays host to an equally broad array of events, including the F1 Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Film Festival, World Future Energy Summit and many other international-standard events, conferences and exhibitions.

World Expo Fact...
The inaugural World Expo was in London, in 1851. Six million people visited The Great Exhibition, and proceeds funded the building of the V&A Museum.

The highest percentage of female high-school graduates

Knowledge Economy
The founding fathers of the UAE recognised the importance of investing in education and enabling entrepreneurship as a way to facilitate the growth of a knowledge economy. Forty years ago, there were few schools and no universities; now there are more than 1,200 schools and over 70 universities. The country has the highest percentage of female high-school graduates who enrol in university anywhere in the world.

The UAE continues to develop in areas ranging from environmental engineering to software development, and from film production to biotechnology. For example, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is a research-oriented university focused on alternative energy and sustainability. Located inside the zero-carbon, zero-waste Masdar City project in Abu Dhabi, programmes are carried out in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, demonstrating the country’s ability to form international partnerships to support the development of the UAE’s knowledge economy. All of this is contributing to the UAE’s international status as a hub for business.

Trade
The top trading economy in the Middle East, the UAE is a dynamic hub for global trade and International commerce, with unmatched infrastructure that provides seamless connectivity for businesses from around the world. Already the 30th largest trading economy in the world, the UAE recorded a total trade surplus of US$94m in 2011.

This performance is supported by strong partnerships with countries such as India, the UAE’s biggest trade partner, and China, the country’s second-largest trade partner. At the same time, the UAE is steadily enhancing trade relations with Africa, where trade flows between the Gulf state and the continent increased over 635 per cent from 2000-2009. While maintaining consistent trade ties with Europe and the US, the UAE is also increasing trade flows with Latin America, especially giants such as Brazil.

Supported by its world class infrastructure, Dubai is leading this growth, with the city’s global trade expected to increase 20 per cent, to US$300bn, this year alone. Home to the world’s most used port outside Asia, Jebel Ali Port, 100 containers are now loaded or unloaded every minute in Jebel Ali – which also features a new Logistics Corridor connecting it to Al Maktoum International Airport. Through this corridor, goods can travel from port to airport in just 20 minutes, further enhancing the city’s competitiveness as an international trade hub.

Dubai central hub

Infrastructure
When it comes to the infrastructure development of the UAE, a picture is worth a thousand words. Look back at archival images of the UAE from 1971. The scale of change is truly incredible. Twenty years ago, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai’s main thoroughfare that leads to Abu Dhabi, was mostly sand. Now it is one of the world’s most modern urban landscapes, linked by multi-lane highways and the only driverless Metro system on earth. In four decades, the UAE has developed both soft and hard infrastructure – including schools, universities, medical clinics and hospitals, as well as roads, ports and airports. As an international business, trade and investment hub, it is also critical to the UAE’s success in attracting foreign companies. Half of the Fortune 500 firms have a base in Dubai, while a high concentration of multinationals use the emirate as a regional HQ.

Though the UAE is home to nine per cent of the world’s oil reserves, non-oil trade accounts for 71 per cent of its total GDP. In Dubai, oil accounts for less than five per cent of total economic output. This focus on infrastructure development has supported the country’s growth over four decades, and will be key to its global competitiveness.

World Expo Fact...
The 1915 Expo in San Francisco, USA, celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal, and served as an opportunity for the city to showcase its recovery from the 1906 earthquake.

Arts & Culture
The development of the artistic and cultural life of the UAE has been led from the top - through government initiatives to build new museums and entire cultural districts - and from the grassroots, led by trailblazers who have opened dozens of independent galleries over the past few years. Across the country, there is a new focus on arts and culture, with world-class events, upcoming institutions and a thriving gallery scene, especially in the Al Quoz industrial area of Dubai, which is being transformed into a new hub for contemporary art.

In Abu Dhabi, the 27 square kilometre Saadiyat Island will be home to the Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi, a performing arts centre and maritime museum. Dubai recently announced plans to build its own cultural district, including museums, art hotels and an opera house.

Across the country the list of cultural events and initiatives is long and growing: the Sharjah Biennial, Art Dubai, the Emirates Festival of Literature, Abu Dhabi Festival of Classical Music, the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Film Festivals. When it comes to the arts in this cosmopolitan country, today more than ever, there is something for everyone.

Tourism
One of the world’s top 10 urban tourist destinations, Dubai hosted more than 9.3 million visitors last year. Given those figures, it is not surprising that tourism is one of the key contributors to the city’s economy, generating US$4.4bn in revenues for Dubai in 2011. Among the city’s many attractions, The Dubai Mall, located at the foot of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, recorded a total footfall of over 54 million last year - more than the number of annual tourists to New York City.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah continue to witness strong growth in tourism. More than 2.1 million guests stayed in Abu Dhabi hotels last year, while some 1.5 million international tourists visited Sharjah during the same period.

World Expo Fact...
The theme ‘transportation’ of the 1986 Expo, in Vancouver, Canada, was marked by the inclusion of a purpose-built monorail system, sky-train, gondolas and water taxis.

The World Expo in brief...



The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, held in London in 1851, inaugurated World Expos as the hallmark events of a world aspiring to strengthen its connections, to appreciate its cultural diversity and to marvel at its technological wonders. Over 150 years later, World Expos continue to represent a key meeting point for the global community to celebrate diversity, share innovations and make progress on issues of importance to the world, such as the global economy, education for sustainable development and improved quality of life for all people across the planet.

The next World Expo will take place in Milan, Italy, in 2015 with a focus on “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.

World Expos attract millions of visitors who will explore and discover pavilions, exhibitions and cultural events staged by hundreds of participants including nations, international organisations, companies and civil society organisations. The event takes place once every five years and lasts for a period of six months.

The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), based in Paris is the international organisation responsible for overseeing the calendar, bidding, selection and organisation of World Expos. Through its 160 member states, spanning the four corners of the globe, it embodies a global commitment to engage the public in promoting innovation in the service of human progress. Each World Expo is a powerful catalyst for economic, cultural and social transformation and creates important legacies for the host city and country, as highlighted by the iconic Eiffel Tower, which was purpose built to serve as the entrance arch for the 1889 Expo in Paris, France. Most recently, Shanghai 2010 World Expo helped transform a heavily industrial area at the centre of the city into a thriving business and cultural district while also bringing its theme “Better City, Better Life” to the attention of 73 million people.

World Expo Fact...
Nearly 80,000 volunteers were trained to serve as part of China’s 2010 Shanghai Expo, which featured over 20,000 live performances during its six-month run.

How the UAE have participated in the World Expo's, past and present


The UAE has an established track record of successfully participating in World Expos. In addition to its presence at Expo 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea, the country has hosted national pavilions at revious Expos in Hanover, Germany; Lisbon, Portugal; Seville, Spain; and Shanghai, China.

The UAE Pavilion from the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is now a permanent fixture on the skyline of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. With its dune-shaped structure designed by Foster + Partners, who are designing the Zayed National Museum, the UAE Pavilion attracted almost two million visitors during Expo 2010. It was voted the most popular international pavilion at that event, and won a range of awards for its iconic design.


History of Dubai & the UAE


 
Dubai history

Dubai
A truly 21st-century city, Dubai is strategically located at the global crossroads between East and West, connecting one-third of the world in just a four-hour flight. Although it has long been a hub for global trade, Dubai was first settled as a fishing village with a total population of just 10,000 at the turn of the last century.

Under the leadership of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai from 1958-90, the city was transformed into a commercial metropolis. Today, under the leadership of Dubai’s Ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as UAE Vice president and Prime Minister, this metropolis of two million inhabitants serves a market of more than two billion people – leading the development of a new Silk Road that connects rapidly growing economies such as India, China, Brazil and the African continent.

Home to more than 200 nationalities, Dubai is a melting pot of cultures and a meeting point for peoples from across the world. Last year, more than 51 million people travelled through Dubai International Airport, which will have the highest footfall of any international airport by 2015.

Dubai, one of seven emirates that comprise the UAE, is well known for its commercial success stories, such as Emirates Airline, Jumeirah Hotels and Jebel Ali Port – the world’s busiest port outside Asia. The city is also recognised for being safe, inclusive and cosmopolitan. This is why Dubai is now one of the world’s top 10 urban tourist destinations, attracting more than 9.3 million visitors last year alone.

United Arab Emirates
The history of the United Arab Emirates, which was founded as a nation in 1971, stretches back to 5,500 BC, when the first known habitation of the area existed. Archaeological evidence suggests that those earliest inhabitants engaged in trade with their neighbours - a trait that has remained consistent across the millennia and is a vital part of the country’s identity even today.

A centre for the pearling industry across the 19th and 20th centuries, the history of the modern UAE began in 1971. At that time, this small country with limited resources marked its founding as a federation of neighbouring emirates, united under the leadership of the founding President, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Located in Southwest Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf, the UAE federal government is led by the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, working in close coordination with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai - as well as a range of federal government bodies, including the elected Federal National Council.

At the time of its founding, the UAE’s total population was less than 280,000. Four decades later, the country’s population is 8.26 million, an incredible rate of growth matched by the rapid development of the nation’s infrastructure. The UAE is home to nine per cent of the world’s oil reserves but boasts an extremely diverse economy - with non-oil trade accounting for 71 per cent of the country’s total GDP – that is poised to expand more than 3.3 per cent this year alone.
 


Question time... with Afshin Molavi



Afshin Molavi is a global geoeconomics specialist and senior advisor at Oxford Analytica, a leading global macro advisory and analysis firm. He spoke to the Dubai, UAE World Expo 2020 team about Dubai’s role in the world economy and as a global hub of trade, people, and ideas.
Dubai’s theme for its World Expo bid is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. How does this fit with Dubai and the UAE’s role in the global economy?
Dubai might be one of the most hyper-connected places on the planet. You can see it on the streets and in the malls. There are not many places where you can mingle with more than 200 different nationalities. You also see it in the art galleries where Dubai has become a hub for contemporary South Asian and Middle Eastern art. And you see it in trade, where Dubai has emerged as one of the world’s leading global hubs. Its airport stands alongside Paris, London, and Hong Kong as among the busiest in the world in terms of international passengers. Its major airline, Emirates, is on track to become the biggest in the world. In 2009, Dubai attracted more Dubai’s Role on the World Stage international tourists than Paris.
 
It consistently ranks in the top 10 cities visited globally. Its shipping ports are among the top 10 busiest in the world. In fact, if you add all of the cargo unloaded in Los Angeles and Long Beach – two of America’s biggest ports - it would be roughly equivalent to Dubai. The city also ranks sixth worldwide in terms of air cargo traffic. These are dizzying numbers when you recall where Dubai came from. A generation ago, it was just a modest regional entrepot. The soaring skyscrapers should not hide this essential fact: Dubai’s rulers created their future by making big bets on infrastructure and creating an environment conducive to trade. It is still a work in progress, but there is no doubt that Dubai has emerged as one of the most consequential global hubs of people and commerce.
 
How would you compare Dubai to other global trade hubs, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, London or New York?
Dubai is unique because it is a trans-continental hub, rather than a regional or thematic one. Hong Kong is a critical hub for mainland China and Asia. Singapore is a major Asian regional hub. New York and London are key global financial hubs, linking the world thematically through finance.
 
Dubai, on the other hand, does not only serve one region or one theme. Thousands of Chinese businesses use Dubai as a hub for Africa. Indian traders use Dubai to access the world. Western multinationals use Dubai as a hub for the Middle East. Latin American “multi-latinas” see Dubai as a launching pad into South Asia. The transcontinental aspect is what makes Dubai a unique hub.

Where does Dubai and the UAE fit into today’s global economy and that of the year 2020?
Dubai sits at the intersection of one of the most transformative moments in geo-economic history in more than a century: the gradual but inexorable shift of the economic centre of gravity from the West to emerging markets and the rise of the so-called “South-South” trade. I would argue that Dubai and the UAE stand at the centre of “The New Silk Road” of trade between the Middle East and Asia, and also what HSBC calls “The Southern Silk Road” linking Latin America, Africa, and Asia in a new world of trade.

By the year 2020, emerging markets will account for roughly half of global GDP, a dramatic leap from just 15 per cent in the 1980s. Global hub cities like Dubai will shape and catalyse this new world of trade.

Take me back to the top >>
 



Find out more about the UAE Bid to Host the World Expo, Click Here >>
 
 
 

ON EXPATWOMAN TODAY