Connecting Minds, Creating the Future

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His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum,

Crown Prince of Dubai

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Contents

Images: Supplied; Hexagon Images

Since 1851, World Expos have provided significant

opportunities to unite people from across the globe and
to engage the world community in a shared project.
Our Bid to host the 2020 World Expo reflects the
spirit of our nation and is informed by the vision of
His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
the President of the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President
and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.
All five cities bidding to host the 2020 World Expo come from emerging markets,
and this is significant. It is reflective of the shifts in global trade flows that we
see today, and provides a clear indication about the future of the world and the
increasing importance of emerging markets on the global stage.
Dubai itself is now a gateway to Africa, particularly for Chinese
companies, and its role as Indias principal international trade hub cannot be
underestimated there are more flights from India to Dubai than to anywhere
else in the world, and more than 300 flights weekly from Dubai to India.
Today, Dubai is also directly connected to destinations throughout Latin
America, including Brazil which until recently was a 30-hour flight routed
through Europe, but can now be completed in just half the time.
However, these connections do not just tell a story of global trade flows.
More importantly, they speak to the heart of development and its
transformative effects, fundamentally offering more and better opportunities
for those living in the emerging markets.
This part of the world is not only an emerging market, but its demographic is
primarily young. This new generation is dynamic, full of energy and enthusiasm
and willing to play a positive role in shaping the world that also shapes them.
Our theme of Connecting Minds, Creating the Future will ensure a truly
rewarding and enduring World Expo 2020 experience. As my father,
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, once said,
connected thinking is the best hope for progress, and for successful and
peaceful existence in the generations to come.

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04

What is the World Expo?

05

Fun Facts

05

United Arab Emirates Participation in Expos

06

Dubais Role on the World Stage

07

Snapshot of UAE History

08

Snapshot of Dubai History

09

UAE Bid Theme

09

Dubai Site

10

UAE Event Track Record

11

Knowledge Economy

12

Trade

13

Infrastructure

13

Arts & Culture

14

Tourism

14

Demographics/Diversity
www.expo2020dubai.ae
Follow @DubaiExpo2020

Published by the Dubai Expo 2020 Executive Bid Committee

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What is the World Expo?

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Images: 01 Corbis; 02/05 Shutterstock; 03 Mee Chen Teong; 04 iStockphoto

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The Great Exhibition of

the Works of Industry of all
Nations, held in London in
1851, inaugurated World
Expos as the hallmark
events of a world aspiring to
strengthen its connections,
to appreciate its cultural
diversity and to marvel at its
technological wonders.
Over 150 years later, World
Expos continue to represent
a key meeting point for the
global community to celebrate
diversity, share innovations
and make progress on issues
of importance to the world,
such as the global economy,
education for sustainable
development and improved
quality of life for all people
across the planet.
Every five years and for a
period of six months, World
Expos attract millions of
visitors who will explore and
discover pavilions, exhibitions
and cultural events staged
by hundreds of participants
including nations, international
organisations, companies and
civil society organisations.
The Paris-based Bureau
International des Expositions
(BIE) is the international
organisation responsible
for overseeing the calendar,
bidding, selection and
organisation of World
Expos. Through its 160
member states, spanning
the four corners of the

globe, it embodies a global

commitment to engage
the public in promoting
innovation in the service
of human progress.
Each World Expo is
a powerful catalyst for
economic, cultural and social
transformation and creates
important legacies for the
host city and country, as
highlighted by the iconic
Eiffel Tower, which was
purpose built to serve as the
entrance arch for the 1889
Expo in Paris, France.
Most recently, Shanghai
2010 World Expo helped
transform a heavily industrial
area at the centre of the city
into a thriving business and
cultural district while also
bringing its theme Better City,
Better Life to the attention of
73 million people.
The next World Expo will
take place in Milan, Italy, in
2015 with a focus on Feeding
the Planet, Energy for Life.

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In November 2011,
the United Arab Emirates
submitted its bid to host
the 2020 World Expo
in Dubai. In this formal
submission to the
Bureau International
des Expositions and
its 160 member states,
His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, UAE Vice
President and Prime
Minister and Ruler of
Dubai, expressed his
support to host this global
gathering and highlighted
the theme of the countrys
bid Connecting Minds,
Creating the Future.
The five candidates to
host Expo 2020 are Dubai
(UAE), Ayutthaya (Thailand),
Ekaterinburg (Russia), Izmir
(Turkey), and Sao Paulo
(Brazil). Following a vote by
the 160 BIE member nations,
the winning city will be
announced in November 2013.

People from all over the world

come to visit World Expos
01 The Atomium, Brussels
02 Sun Valley structure,
Shanghai 03 the Seed
Cathedral, at Shanghai
04 Eiffel Tower, Paris 05 World
Expos are international events

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Fun Facts

The inaugural
World Expo was in
London, in 1851. Six
million people visited
The Great Exhibition,
and proceeds funded
the building of the
V&A Museum.
The first World
Expo in the United
States, in 1876, is
famous for introducing

the public to the first

telephone, the first
commercial typewriter
... and Heinz
Tomato Ketchup.
Some 50 million
visitors attended the
1900 World Expo
in Paris, France,
and marvelled at
innovations such
as escalators,
diesel engines,
Ferris wheels and
talking films.
The 1915 Expo
in San Francisco,
USA, celebrated
the completion of
the Panama Canal,
and served as an
opportunity for the
city to showcase its
recovery from the
1906 earthquake.

The 1958 Expo

in Belgium is best
known for the
construction of a giant
model of a unit cell
of an iron crystal,
called the Atomium,
which remains a
landmark in Brussels.
One of the
highlights of the
1970 Expo in Osaka,
Japan, was a large
moon rock on display
at the US pavilion,
brought back to
earth by Apollo 12
astronauts in 1969.
The theme
transportation
of the 1986 Expo, in
Vancouver, Canada,
was marked by
the inclusion of
a purpose-built

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Dubais Role on the World Stage

monorail system,
sky-train, gondolas
and water taxis.

Afshin
Molavi is a
global geoeconomics
specialist
and senior
advisor at
Oxford Analytica, a leading
global macro advisory and
analysis firm. He spoke to
the Dubai, UAE World Expo
2020 team about Dubais
role in the world economy
and as a global hub of trade,
people, and ideas.

Some 2,000
kilometres
of telecommunications
wire were laid during
construction of the
site for the 1988 Expo
in Brisbane, Australia,
which attracted nearly
16 million visitors.
Nearly 80,000
volunteers were
trained to serve as
part of Chinas 2010
Shanghai Expo,
which featured
over 20,000 live
performances during
its six-month run.
01 The UAE Pavilion from
Shanghai is a permanent
fixture in Abu Dhabi

The UAE has an established

track record of successfully
participating in World Expos.
In addition to its presence
at Expo 2012 in Yeosu,
South Korea, the country
has hosted national pavilions
at previous Expos in
Hanover, Germany; Lisbon,
Portugal; Seville, Spain; and
Shanghai, China.
The UAE Pavilion from the
2010 World Expo in Shanghai
is now a permanent fixture

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on the skyline of Saadiyat

Island in Abu Dhabi.
With its dune-shaped
structure designed by
Foster + Partners, who
are designing the Zayed
National Museum, the UAE
Pavilion attracted almost
two million visitors during
Expo 2010. It was voted the
most popular international
pavilion at that event, and
won a range of awards for
its iconic design.

Images: 01 Shutterstock

United Arab Emirates Participation in Expos

Dubais theme for its World

Expo bid is Connecting Minds,
Creating the Future. How does
this fit with Dubai and the UAEs
role in the global economy?
Dubai might be one of the most
hyper-connected places on the
planet. You can see it on the
streets and in the malls. There
are not many places where you
can mingle with more than 200
different nationalities. You also
see it in the art galleries where
Dubai has become a hub for
contemporary South Asian and
Middle Eastern art. And you
see it in trade, where Dubai has
emerged as one of the worlds
leading global hubs.
Its airport stands alongside
Paris, London, and Hong Kong
as among the busiest in the
world in terms of international
passengers. Its major airline,
Emirates, is on track to become
the biggest in the world. In
2009, Dubai attracted more

international tourists than Paris.

It consistently ranks in the top
10 cities visited globally. Its
shipping ports are among the
top 10 busiest in the world. In
fact, if you add all of the cargo
unloaded in Los Angeles and
Long Beach two of Americas
biggest ports it would be
roughly equivalent to Dubai. The
city also ranks sixth worldwide
in terms of air cargo traffic.
These are dizzying numbers
when you recall where Dubai
came from. A generation
ago, it was just a modest
regional entrepot. The soaring
skyscrapers should not hide
this essential fact: Dubais rulers
created their future by making
big bets on infrastructure
and creating an environment
conducive to trade. It is still
a work in progress, but there
is no doubt that Dubai has
emerged as one of the most
consequential global hubs of
people and commerce.
How would you compare Dubai
to other global trade hubs, such
as Hong Kong, Singapore,
London or New York?
Dubai is unique because it is
a trans-continental hub, rather
than a regional or thematic
one. Hong Kong is a critical
hub for mainland China and
Asia. Singapore is a major
Asian regional hub. New York
and London are key global
financial hubs, linking the world
thematically through finance.

Dubai, on the other hand, does

not only serve one region or
one theme. Thousands of
Chinese businesses use Dubai
as a hub for Africa. Indian
traders use Dubai to access
the world. Western multinationals use Dubai as a hub
for the Middle East. Latin
American multi-latinas see
Dubai as a launching pad
into South Asia. The transcontinental aspect is what
makes Dubai a unique hub.
Where does Dubai and the UAE
fit into todays global economy
and that of the year 2020?
Dubai sits at the intersection of
one of the most transformative
moments in geo-economic
history in more than a century:
the gradual but inexorable
shift of the economic centre
of gravity from the West to
emerging markets and the rise
of the so-called South-South
trade. I would argue that Dubai
and the UAE stand at the
centre of The New Silk Road
of trade between the Middle
East and Asia, and also what
HSBC calls The Southern
Silk Road linking Latin
America, Africa, and Asia in a
new world of trade.
By the year 2020, emerging
markets will account for roughly
half of global GDP, a dramatic
leap from just 15 per cent in the
1980s. Global hub cities like
Dubai will shape and catalyse
this new world of trade.

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Snapshot of Dubai History

A truly 21st-century city, Dubai
is strategically located at the
global crossroads between
East and West, connecting
one-third of the world in just a
four-hour flight.
Although it has long been
a hub for global trade,
Dubai was first settled as
a fishing village with a total
population of just 10,000 at
the turn of the last century.
Under the leadership of the
late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed
Al Maktoum, the Ruler of
Dubai from 1958-90, the
city was transformed into a
commercial metropolis.
Today, under the leadership
of Dubais Ruler, His Highness
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, who also serves
as UAE Vice President and
Prime Minister, this metropolis
of two million inhabitants
serves a market of more than

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Snapshot of UAE History

The history of the United Arab
Emirates, which was founded
as a nation in 1971, stretches
back to 5,500 BC, when the
first known habitation of the
area existed. Archaeological
evidence suggests that those
earliest inhabitants engaged
in trade with their neighbours
a trait that has remained
consistent across the millennia
and is a vital part of the
countrys identity even today.
A centre for the pearling
industry across the 19th and
20th centuries, the history
of the modern UAE began in
1971. At that time, this small
country with limited resources

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marked its founding as a

federation of neighbouring
emirates, united under the
leadership of the founding
President, the late Sheikh
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Located in Southwest Asia,
bordering the Gulf of Oman
and the Arabian Gulf, the UAE
federal government is led by
the President, His Highness
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan, working in close
coordination with His Highness
Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice
President and Prime Minister
and Ruler of Dubai as well as
a range of federal government

bodies, including the elected

Federal National Council.
At the time of its founding,
the UAEs total population
was less than 280,000.
Four decades later, the
countrys population is
8.26 million, an incredible
rate of growth matched by
the rapid development of the
nations infrastructure. The
UAE is home to nine per cent
of the worlds oil reserves but
boasts an extremely diverse
economy with non-oil trade
accounting for 71 per cent of
the countrys total GDP that
is poised to expand more than
3.3 per cent this year alone.

Images: 01 Supplied; 02 Gulf Images; 03 Gulf Images/Al Nisr Publishing LLC;

Joe Sassine/Shadow Professional Photography

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key
Ancient Silk Road
Modern-Day Southern Silk Road
05

two billion people leading

the development of a new
Silk Road that connects
rapidly growing economies
such as India, China, Brazil
and the African continent.
Home to more than 200
nationalities, Dubai is a
melting pot of cultures and
a meeting point for peoples
from across the world. Last
year, more than 51 million
people travelled through Dubai
International Airport, which will
have the highest footfall of any
international airport by 2015.
Dubai, one of seven
emirates that comprise the
UAE, is well known for its
commercial success stories,
such as Emirates Airline,
Jumeirah Hotels and Jebel
Ali Port the worlds busiest
port outside Asia. The city is
also recognised for being safe,
inclusive and cosmopolitan.
For all these reasons and
more, Dubai is now one of the
worlds top 10 urban tourist
destinations, attracting more
than 9.3 million visitors last
year alone.

01 The UAE was a centre for the

pearling industry 02 Aerial view
of the modern day creek
03 The number of boats using
Dubai Creek increased in the
19 50s 04 Traditional dhows are
still used by the pearling industry
05 A new Silk Road connects
rapidly growing economies

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For its bid to host the 2020

World Expo in Dubai, the
UAE has selected the theme:
Connecting Minds, Creating
the Future, which best
represents the fabric and
the future aspirations of its
society and reflects how World
Expos unite people from
across the globe to share in
a common project.
In todays highly
interconnected world, what
is most needed is a renewed
vision of progress and
development based on shared
purpose and commitment.
While a single human mind,
an individual country, or a
specific community is both
unique and remarkable,
it is by coming together and

strengthening connections
that we can truly advance.
As the founding father of
the United Arab Emirates,
the late Sheikh Zayed Bin
Sultan Al Nahyan said: Future
generations will be living in
a world that is very different
from that to which we are
accustomed. It is essential that
we prepare ourselves and our
children for that new world.
As we face ever more
complex challenges, which
now go beyond national
boundaries, the links between
people, societies and ideas
have never been more
important. To realise this
aspiration, the Dubai Expo
2020 will be a platform for
connectivity to help pioneer
new partnerships for growth
and sustainability for the future.

01 Dubai World Championship

is part of golfs renowned
The European Tour
02 Meydan Racecourse is
home to the worlds richest
horserace, the Dubai World
Cup 03 Dubai Duty Free
Tennis Championships is one
of many high-profile events
held in the emirate

Dubai Site
The UAE has proposed
hosting the 2020 World Expo
at Dubai Trade Centre-Jebel
Ali, a 438-hectare site that
has been designed as a
specialised, highly connected
environment that will serve
as a permanent attraction,
further contributing to
Dubais appeal.
To be constructed on the
southwestern edge of the city,
equidistant from the centres of
Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Dubai
Trade Centre-Jebel Ali is also
located in close proximity to
Jebel Ali Port, the third-busiest
port in the world.
The site will also have easy
access to several of the citys
main expressways, including
Sheikh Zayed Road and the
Dubai Bypass Road.
Importantly, Dubai Trade
Centre-Jebel Ali will be located
adjacent to Al Maktoum
International Airport, the citys
second airport.
With major international
airports in Dubai and
Abu Dhabi, and further

03

01

Images: 01 Getty Images; 02/03 Supplied

UAE Bid Theme

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connectivity offered through

emirates such as Sharjah,
the UAE continues to make
the most of its strategic
location at the centre of
the world.
In 2011, more than 51
million passengers travelled
through Dubai International
Airport, where 150 airlines
serve 220 destinations on
six continents.
Led by the success of
Emirates Airline, the worlds
fastest-growing airline,
Dubai Airport is poised
to become the worlds
busiest international airport
by 2015.

02

UAE Event
Track Record
The UAE has long recognised
the potential of the meetings,
conferences and exhibitions
industry, and has established
a track record of successfully
hosting world-class events on
a global scale.

From 2006-2010, the country

doubled the scale of its
exhibition infrastructure. Now
more than 1.5 million visitors
travel to the UAE annually to
take part in over 300 events,
including more than 100 megaexhibitions and conferences.
The industry is also a
significant contributor to the
UAEs national economy,
with meetings, conferences
and exhibitions providing the
second-highest level of GDP
contribution of any country in
the world.
With its unmatched
infrastructure and connectivity,
Dubai, in particular, continues
to witness strong growth in
the events sector. Last year,
events held in the emirate
witnessed a 14 per cent surge
in visitor attendance and five
per cent growth in exhibitor
participation. During the
same period, the Dubai World
Trade Centre contributed
2.5 per cent to the citys total
GDP, positioning the events

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01 Dubai World Cup is a week-long

carnival of horseracing 02 The
UAE has the highest percentage
of female high-school graduates
who enrol in university anywhere in
the world 03 Jebel Ali Port is the
worlds busiest port outside of Asia

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Trade
The top trading economy in
the Middle East, the UAE is a
dynamic hub for global trade
and international commerce,
with unmatched infrastructure
that provides seamless
connectivity for businesses
from around the world.
Already the 30th largest
trading economy in the world,
the UAE recorded a total trade
surplus of US$94m in 2011.
This performance is supported
by strong partnerships with
countries such as India, the
UAEs biggest trade partner,
and China, the countrys
second-largest trade partner.
At the same time, the UAE

is steadily enhancing trade

relations with Africa, where
trade flows between the
Gulf state and the continent
increased over 635 per cent
from 2000-2009. While
maintaining consistent trade
ties with Europe and the US,
the UAE is also increasing
trade flows with Latin America,
especially giants such as Brazil.
Supported by its worldclass infrastructure, Dubai is
leading this growth, with the
citys global trade expected
to increase 20 per cent, to
US$300bn, this year alone.
Home to the worlds most
used port outside Asia, Jebel
Ali Port, 100 containers are now
loaded or unloaded every minute

in Jebel Ali which also features

a new Logistics Corridor
connecting it to Al Maktoum
International Airport. Through
this corridor, goods can travel
from port to airport in just 20
minutes, further enhancing the
citys competitiveness as an
international trade hub.

03

02

Knowledge
Economy
The founding fathers of the
UAE recognised the importance
of investing in education and
enabling entrepreneurship as
a way to facilitate the growth
of a knowledge economy.
Forty years ago, there
were few schools and no
universities; now there are more
than 1,200 schools and over
70 universities. The country
has the highest percentage of
female high-school graduates
who enrol in university
anywhere in the world.
The UAE continues to
develop in areas ranging from
environmental engineering

to software development,
and from film production to
biotechnology. For example,
the Masdar Institute of
Science and Technology is a
research-oriented university
focused on alternative energy
and sustainability. Located
inside the zero-carbon,
zero-waste Masdar City
project in Abu Dhabi,
programmes are carried
out in cooperation with the
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, demonstrating
the countrys ability to form
international partnerships to
support the development of the
UAEs knowledge economy.
All of this is contributing to
the UAEs international status
as a hub for business.

Images: 01 Getty Images; 02 Arabian Eye; 03 Supplied

sector as a key contributor

to Dubais growth.
High-profile events in Dubai
include an earlier Annual
Meeting of the IMF/World
Bank, the biennial Dubai
Airshow, a range of World
Economic Forum Summits,
the Dubai International Film
Festival, Dubai Duty Free
Tennis Championships, the
Dubai World Championship
(a US$7.5m golf tournament
on The European Tour), the
internationally renowned Dubai
World Cup and the Dubai
Summer Surprises Festival,
the largest event held in the
Middle East region, attracting
in excess of 2.2 million people.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi plays
host to an equally broad array
of events, including the F1
Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Film
Festival, World Future Energy
Summit and many other
international-standard events,
conferences and exhibitions.

c o n n ect in g m in ds, c r e at in g t h e f u t u r e

Dubai is the largest, most

developed logistics hub in
a region that encompasses
more than two billion people
across southeast Europe,
the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS), the
Indian subcontinent, the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA)

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Infrastructure

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Tourism

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01

02

Arts & Culture

The development of the
artistic and cultural life of the
UAE has been led from the
top through government
initiatives to build new
museums and entire cultural
districts and from the
grassroots, led by trailblazers
who have opened dozens of
independent galleries over the
past few years.
Across the country, there
is a new focus on arts and
culture, with world-class
events, upcoming institutions

04

and a thriving gallery scene,

especially in the Al Quoz
industrial area of Dubai, which
is being transformed into a
new hub for contemporary art.
In Abu Dhabi, the 27 square
kilometre Saadiyat Island will
be home to the Zayed National
Museum, Guggenheim Abu
Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi, a
performing arts centre and
maritime museum. Dubai
recently announced plans to
build its own cultural district,
including museums, art hotels
and an opera house.
Across the country the
list of cultural events and
initiatives is long and growing:
the Sharjah Biennial, Art
Dubai, the Emirates Festival of
Literature, Abu Dhabi Festival
of Classical Music, the Dubai
and Abu Dhabi Film Festivals.
When it comes to the arts
in this cosmopolitan country,
today more than ever, there is
something for everyone.

Images: 01/03/05 Hexagon Images; 02 Shutterstock; 04 Supplied; 06 Corbis; 07/08 Art Dubai

When it comes to the

infrastructure development of
the UAE, a picture is worth a
thousand words. Look back
at archival images of the UAE
from 1971. The scale of change
is truly incredible.
Twenty years ago, Sheikh
Zayed Road, Dubais main
thoroughfare that leads to Abu
Dhabi, was mostly sand. Now
it is one of the worlds most
modern urban landscapes,
linked by multi-lane highways
and the only driverless Metro
system on earth.
In four decades, the UAE
has developed both soft and
hard infrastructure including
schools, universities, medical
clinics and hospitals, as well
as roads, ports and airports.
As an international business,
trade and investment hub, it
is also critical to the UAEs
success in attracting foreign
companies. Half of the Fortune
500 firms have a base in Dubai,
while a high concentration of
multinationals use the emirate
as a regional HQ.
Though the UAE is home
to nine per cent of the worlds
oil reserves, non-oil trade
accounts for 71 per cent of
its total GDP. In Dubai, oil
accounts for less than five per
cent of total economic output.
This focus on infrastructure
development has supported
the countrys growth over four
decades, and will be key to its
global competitiveness.

One of the worlds top 10

urban tourist destinations,
Dubai hosted more than
9.3 million visitors last year.
Given those figures, it is not
surprising that tourism is one
of the key contributors to the
citys economy, generating
US$4.4bn in revenues for
Dubai in 2011. Among the
citys many attractions,
The Dubai Mall, located at
the foot of Burj Khalifa, the
worlds tallest tower, recorded
a total footfall of over 54
million last year more than
the number of annual tourists
to New York City.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi and
Sharjah continue to witness
strong growth in tourism.
More than 2.1 million guests
stayed in Abu Dhabi hotels
last year, while some 1.5
million international tourists
visited Sharjah during the
same period.

05

06

Demographics/
Diversity
A cosmopolitan city that
is inhabited by over 200
nationalities, Dubai is a melting
pot of cultures and a meeting
point for peoples from across
the globe. Home to just over
two million residents, two-thirds
of the citys population is
between the ages of 20-39.
In line with the national
focus on inclusiveness and
openness, the citys incredible
diversity has long served as
one of its great strengths
helping to attract the best
minds from around the
world, who are drawn to
this meritocratic environment
by the promise of great
personal and professional
opportunity and supporting
its ongoing economic growth
and diversification.

07

08

01 The iconic Burj Al Arab

hotel in Dubai 02 The scale
of change since 1971 has
been incredible 03 Dubai is
full of modern architecture
04 The worlds first driverless
Metro system 05 Dubai is
a top tourist destination
06-08 The emirate is now a
thriving arts and culture hub

e x p o 20 20 d u b a i ua e 14