BUSINESS & FINANCE
motivated people everywhere. Imagine the impression
the BIE committee must have had when witnessing
this first hand in Dubai and throughout the UAE.
on through difficult times again began to prosper.
Debts incurred during the crises began to be settled.
The economy began to move freely again.
On the 12th of June 2013 5 cities offered their official
presentations to the BIE committee. Thailand was
disqualified in the end leaving only four candidates.
The final BIE voting was held on the 27th of November
2013 in Paris. Countries who publicly supported the
UAE’s bid for Expo 2020 included Canada, China, United
Kingdom, France, Italy, Mozambique, St. Lucia and the
Netherlands.
Today Dubai has a thriving economy. There are
many projects planned for Expo 2020 which haven’t
started, but knowing they are in the works has inspired
confidence in investors and business to stay calm and
carry on. The end result is plain to see. Visiting Dubai
reflects a prosperous growing economy with tower
cranes dotting the skyline and the tourism industry
has taken over as the number 1 industry in the emirate.
Many world-wide companies have now opened offices
in Dubai reflecting confidence. His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is respected and
loved by locals and ex-pats alike. His charisma is quite
contagious and his vision for his people and his emirate
is unmistakably clear. His clarity not only served to
keep things moving forward but has pushed Dubai’s
economy to grow and look to the future.
The Bureau of International Des Expositions or ‘BIE’ are
a committee based in Paris, France comprising delegates
from 168 countries or states whose responsibility are
selecting the location of the World Expo, providing
the host country its expertise regarding expositions
and regulating its execution to ensure that the host
state respects its rules. The committee was formed
in 1928 with 31 countries originally and now had a
difficult decision to make in a 3 round elimination
voting process.
People all over the world watched as the voting
progressed until it was announced that the final round
would be between Yekaterinburg and Dubai.
The final vote resulted as follows:
47 votes for Yekaterinburg, Russia against 116 votes
for Dubai, UAE
Looking back, many people might have under estimated
the potential impact the credit crises potentially could
have the world. Leaders from every nation did the
best they could with the resources at their disposal
to prevent a world-wide disaster, but there were a
few who actually found a way beyond the troubles by
focusing on the future. Dubai’s a great example of how
one man’s vision inspired greatness and a testimony to
what one man’s belief in a vision can achieve.
They had done it! Dubai (UAE), Izmir (Turkey), Sao Paulo
(Brazil), and Yekaterinburg (Russia) were all finalists in
the bid for bringing Expo 2020 to their country but in
3 rounds of elimination voting, Dubai won by a land
slide. The people in the UAE were ecstatic with their
success and celebrated with a firework show from the
Burj Kalifa, the world’s tallest building and an iconic
symbol of Dubai. The festivity was broadcasted the
world over.
Slowly the situation began to change in Dubai as His
Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
continued to persistently work on problems and
challenges facing Dubai. Projects that were abandoned
began to start back up. People who managed to hold
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1961 Magazine Fall 2016