Expo 84 in Vancouver, Canada. was a defining moment in my life. And the World Expo 67 gave birth to architecture still inspiring people of today. Dubai hosted a World Expo in 2020, then Covid so it was moved to 2021.
And now based in the Middle East I am closer to visiting a World Expo again, as Saudi Arabia wins the bid for World Expo 2030. Riyadh, as the host city, beat out Rome in Italy and South Korea’s Busan to host the showpiece event held every five years.
The World Expo 2030 will be held in the Saudi capital after an intense lobbying process from all the contenders. According to the bid, the Riyadh Expo will be held from October 2030 to March 2031 under the theme “The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow.”
The Saudis should probably find a new copywriter for the event which will probably showcase their bazillian new construction projects like the New Murabba Project. And The Line over on the Red Sea. If the Saudis can keep the Yemeni Houthi rebels in check from sabotage and broker a peace deal between the Hamas and Israel (making it feel safe for people to return to the Middle East) the world will feel welcome to visit Saudi Arabia, the oil superpower in the Middle East which runs Aramco, its oil and gas company.
It wasn’t long ago that women couldn’t drive in Saudi Arabia (they were allowed in 2018) but we are getting indications that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and his ruling family has accepted liberal values of the west if they want to be part of the global conversation and expect tourists to visit Saudi Arabia as part of its Vision 2030.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has been at the forefront of the Kingdom’s efforts to host the Expo, which would be the latest in a line of events to be hosted by the Kingdom. The hosting of the Expo is regulated by the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), an organization created almost a century ago which now has 182 member states.
Maybe part of the vision could be tours of the House of Saud’s ancestral home? And its work with mangrove forest rehabilitation. And visits to RedSea farms. Or its holding back the deserts with local saxual trees.
The most recent World Expo took place in 2020 in Dubai and the next World Expo is due in 2025 in Osaka, Japan under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.”
