Dubai’s Expo 2020 postponed to Oct 1, 2021

DUBAI: Dubai’s Expo 2020 world’s fair will be postponed to October 1, 2021, over the new coronavirus pandemic, a Paris-based body behind the events said Monday.

Dubai has bet billions of dollars on Expo 2020 to boost its economy. Since thepandemic grounded flights by its long-haul carrier Emirates and disrupted its real estate market, Dubai has been seeking to delay the event until next year, a British wire service reported.

Countries belonging to the bureau had been voting on the requested delay for days, with a final tally expected by the end of May. On Monday, however, the bureau said a required two-thirds of the countries in the organization had voted to approve the delay, meaning it would be granted.

The bureau’s executive committee voted unanimously in April to back the proposal, which will see the event run from Oct. 1, 2021, until March 31, 2022.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and CEO of Emirates who also serves on Dubai’s Expo committee, welcomed the announcement in a statement. “We are thankful to member states for their continued commitment to contributing to a World Expo in Dubai that will play a pivotal role in shaping our post-pandemic world at a time when it will be most needed,” Sheikh Ahmed said.