News: Why rumours on World Expo 2020 candidates are false

Is Dubai’s World Expo 2020 bid a sure win? Is it a done deal? Is it fixed? Has it been, for lack of a better word, ‘bought’? Or, will Russia take home the prize, as recent rumours have suggested? If you’ve been keeping abreast of the latest news and hearsay, you wouldn’t be blamed for either being certain of Dubai’s chances of winning, uncertain, or just plain confused.
If you’ve been part of a conversation about Dubai’s ambition to win this global event, chances are you’re aware that it’s had more than its fair share of support, both domestically (among residents, companies and government officials) and globally. “Dubai is the best candidate, it definitely deserves to win and I hope it does” is a sentence (paraphrased, of course) you’ve probably heard or read a number of times.
We can argue (and there have been many arguments) about why Dubai is the perfect candidate; what it can deliver to the region and the world, and why the rapid growth and development of this city is just too impressive to ignore – but does that mean we can be certain of who the winner is ahead of time? Can the right to host such a global event be so easily ‘bought’ by any of the candidate cities?
The answer is no, plain and simple. The fact is that this decision is not made by one person or even ten people that can be easily persuaded with power, money or influence.
The truth is that, regardless of the friends, acquaintances or government officials you may have in your social circle, there’s no real way of knowing ahead of time which candidate city will emerge victorious. Here are a few reasons why the rumours should be put to bed:
- The final decision is only made and announced when representatives from member nations cast their votes behind closed doors at the 154^th Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the organising committee of the expo.
- This meeting will take place on November 27 and the process is estimated to take approximately three hours.
- The BIE has 168 member nations. Each country can have a maximum of three delegates to represent it. That means, at the time of voting, there can be anywhere between 168 to 504 delegates present. Enough said.
- Any state may become a member of the BIE by adhering to the Paris Convention of 1928, so your ‘jury of peers’ is in no way skewed. Sudan became the latest member of the BIE this month.
- Each candidate city must still give a final presentation, so the decision literally is made in the last minute. Following that, rounds of voting will take place and the candidate with the least amount of votes will be eliminated after each round.
With a mere week to go until the final World Expo 2020 vote, it’s safe to say that the majority of UAE residents have complete faith that Dubai will emerge victorious. You can base that on your own conversations, the hundreds of thousands of Facebook posts and tweets, or recent surveys, including one on Kippreport, where 88 per cent of residents (those who were aware of the expo) said that they believed Dubai would end up hosting the Expo 2020.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Miniter of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, recently said that the UAE will be successful whether it wins the bid or not, adding that the country is already working and moving forward with various development plans.
“We are optimistic about our chances to host the World Expo 2020. We are optimistic, because we have the necessary elements to host the event. I would like to thank the countries that voiced their support for the UAE’s bid,” His Highness says.

Source: kippreport