World

Riyadh wins bid to host World Expo 2030

World Expo 2030 draws millions of people and has its roots in the Great Exhibition in London in 1851

By Web Desk
November 28, 2023
Attendees wearing traditional dress arrive at the Grand Palais Ephemere for the Riyadh 2030 reception event to promote Riyadh’s candidacy for 2030 World Expo, in Paris on June 19, 2023. — AFP
Attendees wearing traditional dress arrive at the Grand Palais Ephemere for the Riyadh 2030 reception event to promote Riyadh’s candidacy for 2030 World Expo, in Paris on June 19, 2023. — AFP

Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, has been chosen to host the World Expo 2030.

The Riyadh Expo, with the theme "The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow," will run from October 2030 to March 2031.

The hosting of this year's centrepiece event, which takes place every five years, has been the focus of very strong lobbying efforts from South Korea, Italy, and Saudi Arabia.

Leading the Kingdom's efforts to organise the Expo, the most recent in a series of events that Saudi Arabia will host, is Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The Kingdom won the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup after being the sole bidder.

The World Expo, a multi-month mega event that draws millions of people and has its roots in the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, is designed to address the unique concerns of our day.

The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), located in Paris, oversees the hosting of the Expo; its 182 member states cast ballots to choose the winner.

At the BIE's general meeting in the French capital on Tuesday, following each candidate's final bid presentation, Riyadh was selected.

The next World Expo, with the subject "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," is scheduled for Osaka, Japan in 2025. The most recent one took held in 2020 in Dubai.