PARIS // Dubai is a strong candidate for the world fair but political ties will be the decider if today’s vote goes down to the wire, according to a senior official of the event’s governing body.
“The Dubai project is excellent and viable and very promising for the host country and the region,” said Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales, secretary general of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).
“Dubai’s campaign has been very active, they have been meeting all the member states and organisations. I’m convinced that what Dubai says it will do, it will do. But in the end, it’s the will of each voting country.
“It depends on the capacity of Dubai to convince the different countries. In some cases, close ties could be because of neighbours or culture and similar identities but that does not give a guarantee. You cannot rely on neighbours, you must convince the international community.”
Mr Loscertales said competition was tough because the other candidates’ projects were also “valuable, feasible, and with strong supporters in the international community”.
Of the BIE’s 168 member nations, 165 countries with voting rights will elect the host.
The second day of the BIE general assembly on Wednesday will begin with 20-minute presentations from the hopefuls. Dubai will go first, followed by Sao Paulo, Yekaterinburg and Izmir.
Voting will begin in the afternoon by electronic ballot and three rounds could take up to three hours.
The candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated after each round, but if a country gets two thirds of all votes in the first or second ballot, that country will be announced as the winner.
In case of a close contest, previous partnerships and future links between nations could play a critical role.
Most BIE delegates have instructions from their country about how to vote. If one candidate has been voted out in the first few rounds those votes could go to another city.
“During the final stage of the bidding campaign it is crucial to convince countries that have not already decided which project to support,” Mr Loscertales said.
“The most difficult task of every candidate in this moment is also to foresee different scenarios of voting in different rounds in order to find new supporters.”
Mr Loscertales believes it will rest on a number of factors.
“The most decisive factor is a recognition of the importance of the expo project, but there is also recognition of the importance of partnerships that can be established and future partnerships in economy, finance and bilateral relations,” he said.
“It is about, ‘What can we do together’, and not just about what can be done today but the hope of having strong relationships in years to come.”
Close competition was witnessed through the Expo 2020 bid process.
“We can observe actually the very strong determination of all candidates to win and it is typical in the case of good Expo projects and very professional teams,” Mr Loscertales said.
“This spirit of competition that we see is a sign of high quality bidding campaigns.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae