Formally, Saudi Arabia Submits its File to Play Host to the World Expo 2030

In the name of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City submitted the Kingdom’s bid, to play host to the World Expo 2030, in Riyadh.

The step followed an announcement by HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, last October, during the Kingdom participation, in the virtual meetings of the General Assembly of the International Bureau of Exhibitions, or Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which was held in Paris, to start the bidding process, set to take place in 5-stage and to be concluded with a vote, at the end of 2023.

CEO of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City Fahd bin Al-Rasheed explained that as many as 5-country are vying to host such a prestigious global event: Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Italy, Ukraine and Russia. The feat lasts 6-month and enables the host and participating countries to review the latest developments, in science and technology, its most prominent cultures and heritage, and progress made in the environmental, social and economic sectors.

During the meeting, the CEO of the authority spoke to the 170 member states of the International Bureau of Exhibitions, about Riyadh’s candidacy to host this international forum saying: “Expo 2030 will coincide with the year of the coronation of Vision 2030, and it will be an exceptional opportunity to present the achievements of the vision and exchange experiences.”

The value of this unprecedented transformation, and some of these lessons extracted may be applied on a larger scale, to contribute to providing solutions to the most prominent challenges facing the worldwide, he explained.”

Referring to a part of the message of the HRH Crown Prince as he was addressing to the International Bureau of Exhibitions last October, he mentioned that the world today is experiencing an era of change, and facing an unprecedented need for human solidarity, indicating that these words were the source of inspiration for the Kingdom’s logo for the World Expo 2030: “The era of change: moving our planet towards the future.”

The CEO also took the member states on a virtual tour, depicting the rich biodiversity of Saudi Arabia, from an amazing vast desert through to a magnificent green mountains of all the way down to the Red Sea coast, with its rare coral reefs, to the charming Asir region, all the heritage sites of AlUla, where the caravans used to station, during the ancient trade routes and settled for centuries, to leave behind an archaeological treasure and troves, that include hundreds of inscriptions and rock tombs.

“As you can see, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not just a G20 member state, he drew attention, adding that it has natural resources, environmental diversity, ambitious youth, wise leadership, and a great vision to be realized by 2030.

The city of Riyadh will be a prosperous and sustainable city for the future, and the preferred destination for talented entrepreneurs and giant firms, he elaborated.

The CEO reminded the member states of Riyadh’s history and economy, contributing as much 59 per cent of the Kingdom’s non-oil GDP, stressing that Riyadh did not achieve these goals because of oil revenues, rather it flourished despite them, because it has gone the other way round, deciding to depend on opening its doors to the world.

Riyadh has become one of the fastest growing cities ,in the world, indeed, as it expanded from a small city with a population of as many as 150,000 people, in 1950, to nearly as much as 8 million people today, a GDP of $200 billion, he highlighted.

The CEO also provided a brief overview of the list of mega projects, in progress, in Riyadh, which will contribute to transforming the Saudi capital into one of the world’s 10 largest city economies, and an ideal candidate to host the World Expo, stressing that by 2030, the city of Riyadh will be ready to host World Expo, and will perfectly embody what the World Expo aims to achieve, including bringing together the world’s best minds, ideas and solutions, in order to further advance the progress of all humanity.

The CEO addressed Riyadh’s ambitious initiatives through the Riyadh Sustainability Strategy to reduce energy consumption, water and waste recycling, aiming to transform Riyadh into a sustainable city, by significantly reducing carbon emissions.