The talks will discuss the bid Russia submitted in October 2011 to host the World EXPO from May 1 to October 31, 2020 under the theme The Global Mind: The Future of Globalisation and its Impact on our World. The winning bid will be decided in November 2013 at the BIE General Assembly’s 154th session.
Yekaterinburg is one of five cities bidding to host the 2020 EXPO. The other candidates are Sao Paulo (Brazil), Dubai (UAE), Ayutthaya (Thailand), and Izmir (Turkey).
The Enquiry Mission made an inspection visit to Yekaterinburg on March 25–27, 2013.
Holding the EXPO in Yekaterinburg would give a new boost to developing the entire Urals Region economy and would speed up implementation of industrial, scientific and infrastructure projects in the region. Russia has taken part in the world expo movement ever since the first world industrial exhibition in 1851 in London, but has never yet hosted the EXPO itself.