The Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) has deemed Minnesota’s bid on behalf of the United States “viable” to host a Specialized Expo in 2027. That puts Minnesota on a short list of candidates around the globe to host the expo.
This is the first time this has happened for a U.S. bid since 1980. Last week BIE representatives toured locations including in Minnesota as part of an Enquiry Mission. They met with federal, state and local officials and to see how feasible it would be to host the Specialized Expo in 2027.
There are five total candidates now, including Minnesota. The others locations are Thailand (Phuket), Argentina (Bariloche), Serbia (Belgrade), Spain (Malaga).
The final selection will be in June of 2023.
Each of the host candidates presented a different theme, along with different dates when hosting the expo. The United States’ candidature is for a Specialised Expo in Minnesota would take place between May 15 and August 15, 2027, under the theme “Healthy People, Healthy Planet: Wellness and Well-Being for All”.
Expos are global events that explore a chosen theme through engaging and immersive discoveries. Among the different categories of Expos, Specialised Expos are designed to respond to a precise challenge facing humanity and may take place in the interval between two World Expos. Specialised Expos are limited in terms of duration - lasting up to three months.
If Minnesota is chosen, the space host space would be in Bloomington near the Mall of America, and the state would be entirely responsible for building it.
You can seem more about how the site would be built in Bloomington here.
Minnesota Expo 2027, a nonprofit set up to promote the state’s bid, projects 13.3 million would attend over 93 days in the summer of 2027.
They say the Expo will afford the U.S. and Minnesota a unique PR and positioning opportunity and will support future tourism and business investment. The group says hosting the Expo could create up to 33,000 jobs and generate $700+ million in new spending along with the potential development of 62 acres in the area.
Governor Walz (D), Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (D), Rep. Tom Emmer (R) and President Joe Biden (D) have all put their support behind Minnesota’s bid to host the Expo.
It has been almost 40 years since a World Expo was held on U.S. soil. The most recent Specialised Expo, Expo 2017 Astana, took place in the capital of Kazakhstan under the theme “Future Energy”, and received almost 4 million visits. Dubai hosted a World Expo in 2020.
There are currently two Expos scheduled prior to 2027. Buenos Aires, Argentina is hosting in 2023, and Osaka, Japan in 2025.
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