DUBAI // The world packs up its pavilions in Milan this month and casts its eyes towards the UAE, as the run-up to Expo Dubai 2020 begins in earnest.
After the city’s bid document is officially ratified in Paris this month by the Bureau of International Expositions, work will begin on the Dubai site and the world will be invited to become a part of history.
Watching carefully will be Giuliano Pisapia, mayor of Milan, after his city passes on the coveted baton.
“The possibility to see and experience the future, which in Dubai has started, has really fascinated me,” Mr Pisapia said. “Dubai is a beautiful, exciting city. I will have to go back.”
The link between Milan’s theme of “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, and Dubai’s “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, would strengthen ties between Italy and the UAE, he said.
Dubai’s Expo will be the first to take place in the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia region.
Submitted this summer and examined by member states, the expo dossier will be put before a session of the BIE general assembly and registered.
“The registration document is a substantial piece of work and is the culmination of two years of work since winning the bid,” a Dubai spokesman said.
The dossier will include a definition of the Expo theme, give site and financial details, and outline the communications plan and use of the site after the Expo, said Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales, the secretary general of the BIE.
“Once Expo 2020 has been registered, the Government of the UAE will be able to officially invite countries to participate in the Expo,” Mr Loscertales said.
“In collaboration with the BIE secretariat, the Expo will then start the construction works and the international relations work together with the Government of the UAE.”
In Milan, the sand dune-inspired UAE pavilion along the fair’s central avenue drew more than 1.1 million visitors. Milan organisers said it was among the 10 most popular.
It is estimated that 25 million people will visit the UAE between October 20, 2020 and April 10, 2021.
Officials have been fine-tuning their presentation to the BIE since the UAE won the world fair bid two years ago this month.
“We have been laying the foundation of what we are confident will be an exceptional World Expo,” the spokesman said.
This included designing and finalising plans for the site, he said.
Young people and the business community will continue to be the focus of the Expo team’s recruiting.
“The success of the UAE pavilion has allowed us to engage with an international audience and conveyed the essence of our nation to the world – a young, capable and dynamic country full of enthusiasm for the future and determination to succeed,” the official said.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
