The South Korean scenic port city of Busan has captured world
attention as the leading contender to host the World Expo 2030.
Busan’s bid is taking shape months after the successful completion of the
World Expo 2020 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates in March 2022.
South Korea actively participated in the World Expo 2020 in Dubai under
the theme of the ‘Smart Korea, Moving the World to You.’
The theme enabled the country to showcase its dynamism in leading the Fourth
Industrial Revolution and sharing the future vision with mankind.
In the World Expo 2030 event in Busan, South Korea would extend its
Dubai Expo’s thematic vision with a new theme “Transforming Our World,
Navigating Toward a Better Future.”
Sub-themes have been selected to address the three global challenges:
climate change, downsides of the digital transformation, and inequality
among and within nations.
Each sub-theme correlates with the three pillars
of the United Nations’ SDGs – people, planet, and prosperity.
As it seeks to host the World Expo 2030 South Korea is on the verge of
making history by becoming the seventh country in the world to have
hosted the three mega international events – the Olympics, the World Cup,
and the World Expo.
In this group there are such countries as France, the United States,
Canada, Japan, Germany, and Italy. Korea hosted both the Summer and
Winter Olympics 30 years apart in 1988 and 2018 respectively, and co-
hosted the World Cup2002.
In fact the 2030 Busan Expo would not be the first international exhibition,
at the caliber of an expo, to be hosted by South Korea. Daejeon and Yeosu
cities held Specialized Expos in 1993 and 2012 respectively.
But if Busan is selected it will be the first time for South Korean to host the
World Expo. World Expo organizers, BIE, are set to hold their general
assembly in November 2023 where they will select the World Expo 2030
host city.
If Busan is selected it will offer South Korea a very generous opportunity to
showcase not only the global city that has grown to become a global tourist
destination of choice and an international transport and logistics hub but
also the transformative dynamism of a country whose high tech consumer
goods have become a daily necessity for households, businesses and
institutions the world over.
As the second largest city in the Republic of Korea Busan is a global
megacity that is strategically located connected through world-class
infrastructure such as airports, high-speed railways and top-edged ports.
As a top Asian tourist destination Busan receives 40 million travellers from
around the globe annually.
This is due to its captivating natural environment emanating from the harmony among the sea including the
seven beaches, rivers and mountains.
As a well-developed city Busan is playing a leading role in the
transformation process amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
On July 23, 2019, Busan was designated as a regulation-free zone for Blockchain
technologies to test innovative technologies and foster related businesses.
A center for Korea’s future industries, Busan Eco Delta Smart City, is
becoming a logistics hub of Northeast Asia.
This thriving city now serves as a center for marine science and R&D, and a home to relevant institutions,
such as the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and the Korea Institute of Ocean
Science and Technology (KIOST).
And when Busan is selected to host the World Expo 2030 it will not start
from scratch as the city has a wealth of experience in holding high caliber
international events, starting with the Asian Games in 2002 and the APEC
Summit in 2005.
Other events that Busan has hosted include the 2011 Busan World
Development Institute General Assembly, 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary
Conference, and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders
Associations (FIATA) World Congress in 2022.
Lately Busan was rated among 13 largest Meetings, Incentives,
Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) cities globally with outstanding talent
pool and exhibition infrastructure.
Steely determination
The South Korean people have shown much determination and the bidding
committee very adequately prepared to conduct a competitive bidding
process for hosting the World Expo 2030.
A hi-powered delegation led by South Korea’s Prime Minister Duck-soo
Han and the Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Busan, strongly presented
the project to organise World Expo 2030 in Busan at the Bureau
International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris recently claiming that Busan is
an excellent choice for hosting the World Expo 2030.
President Suk-yeol Yoon, also made an appeal to BIE Delegates via a
video message. South Korea’s world famous boy band BTS was appointed
as the honorary ambassadors for the 2030 Busan World Expo.
The other contending cities having staked their claim on hosting this mega
event include Rome (Italy) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).
South Korea’s neighbouring country Japan is hosting the World EXPO
2025 in Osaka-Kansai.
The first World Expo – the Great Exhibition – took place in London in 1851.
The concept became popular and was repeated across the globe,
demonstrating an unparalleled power of attraction and a record of world-
class legacies.
Since 1928 World Expos have explicitly been organised
around a theme that attempts to improve humankind’s knowledge, takes
into account human and social aspirations and highlights scientific,
technological, economic and social progress.
In the modern era, World Expos are unrivalled among international events
in their size, scale, duration and visitor numbers.
They are large-scale platforms for education and progress that serve as a bridge between
governments, companies, international organisations, and citizens.
The most recent World Expo took place in Dubai, the United Arab
Emirates, between October 1 st 2021 and March 31 st 2022. The next World
Expo will take place in Osaka, Kansai, Japan between 13 April and 13
October 2025.
Comments
Post a Comment
Welcome.......
What are you thinking of....!!