For over a century and a half, World Expos have provided opportunities for members of the global community to come together and showcase their greatest innovations, promoting progress and fostering international cooperation.
It was at these expositions where the live TV broadcast, the telephone, mechanical computer and other paradigm-shifting inventions were first introduced to the world.
Sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international event dates back to 1851 when the Great Exhibition in London was held in the iconic Crystal Palace, demonstrating the inventions of the Industrial Revolution. While the themes have varied throughout its history, the expositions -- or world fairs -- have provided a platform for nations to showcase their respective achievements to the rest of the world.
South Korea is currently throwing all its weight behind efforts to prove to the visiting delegations of the BIE that the port city of Busan is the best place to host the upcoming World Expo 2030. The intergovernmental organization based in Paris -- consisting of 170 member states -- oversees and regulates all international exhibitions that last more than three weeks and are of a non-commercial nature.
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Members of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission receive caricature drawings of themselves from the official supporters' club of the 2030 Busan World Expo in Seoul on Monday. (Joint Press Corp.) |
Established 1928, the BIE currently oversees four types of expos: the World Expo, the Specialized Expo, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.
South Korea has hosted a Specialized Expo twice -- Taejone Expo 1993 and Expo 2012 in Yeosu -- but the upcoming mega-event of 2030 would be its first time hosting the World Expo, if it beats out its competitors Italy, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
The host country for the World Expo 2030 will be elected by the BIE member states in a general assembly set for November of this year, after which the BIE will regulate the organization of the vent and make sure that the host and all participating nations respect the Convention of the BIE and the rules of the Expo. It is also the BIE’s role to provide the candidates, as well as the host countries, with expertise in event management, national branding and public diplomacy.
Although the eight-member BIE Enquiry Mission has just kicked off its inspection of Busan, the anticipation is high among Koreans in light of potentially hosting a global event. On Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol told his senior secretaries that all government bodies should do their absolute best in supporting the BIE Mission.
If Busan wins the bid, it will mark the second straight time a World Expo has been hosted in the Far East, as the Expo 2025 is slated to be held in Osaka, Japan. Since the beginning of the 21st century, World Expos have been restricted to once every five years, with Specialized Expos taking place in the in-between years.
