BIE Secretary General Says “Pleased” With Dubai’s Expo 2020 Progress

The secretary general of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Vicente Loscertales has said that he is pleased with the progress made by Dubai on its Expo 2020 bid.

The executive, who heads the governing body of World Expos, is on an official visit to Dubai to discuss the approaching submission of the Expo 2020 registration document, the Expo committee said in a statement.

The registration dossier is an official stage for the certification of Dubai as the host city for the World Expo in 2020.

Loscertales was updated on the progress of all key elements associated with the mega event and was briefed about important technical matters, the statement said.

The step is a part of the mandatory BIE registration phase.

“Delivering a transformative World Expo requires maintaining a close and collaborative partnership with the BIE, and we welcome their institutional guidance and support to confirm Expo 2020 Dubai is on a productive and efficient road to 2020,” said Reem Al Hashimy, UAE minister of state, board representative of the Dubai Expo 2020 Higher Committee and director general, Bureau Dubai Expo 2020.

“We are confident that our registration document, which we will submit during the summer of 2015, will be comprehensive and clearly represent the depth of research, outreach and planning that the team has undertaken and how Dubai will produce an extraordinary World Expo.”

The delegation from BIE first visited Dubai in December last year to oversee the progress made by the committee to prepare for the mega event.

Issues such as theme development and implementation, master plan and site works, participant and visitor engagement strategies, communication and marketing, business operations and legacy were discussed.

As part of its Expo 2020 preparations, Dubai also announced a massive campaign, consisting of art sculptures and paintings, to increase public awareness about the impact of hosting the mega event.

About 21 towering structures are placed across locations, including major shopping malls, leisure hubs and business centres in the emirate.

The sculptures, which will be three to six metres high, will have interactive screens allowing the public to learn about the Expo themes and the impact that previous expos had on societies.

The Higher Committee also launched a competition to redesign the logo of Expo 2020. The contest will run from March to April and the final design will be unveiled in October 2015.