Countdown to World Expo 2030 bid results: What will it mean for Saudi Arabia ?

It is just days away until Saudi Arabia will find out if it has secured the winning bid to host World Expo.

The Kingdom has set its sights on hosting the World Expo in Riyadh from October 1, 2030, to March 31, 2031, centered around the theme ‘The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow.’

The Saudi capital competes with two other candidates for hosting the exhibition – Busan in Korea and Rome in Italy.

If it wins the bid, it will mark the first time that Saudi Arabia will be hosting the world fair, becoming only the second GCC country to stage the international exhibition after Dubai’s hosting of Expo 2020 in 2021-2022. It was the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region.

The host country for the 2030 showpiece will be elected by the Member States of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) during the Organization’s 173rd General Assembly on November 28.

World Expos have been held for 170 years, since London’s Great Exhibition in 1851, and have since showcased innovations such as the telephone and microwave.

Analysts say if Saudi Arabia wins the bid, it will spell untold tourism, business, and innovation prospects for the Kingdom.