Expo City Dubai kicks off, a new futuristic city which will welcome families and companies starting next autumn.
His Highness the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Sovereign of Dubai, with a series of tweets announced the opening of Expo City Dubai and the transformation plan of the Expo 2020 site. The city, connected to a port and two airports, it will open in stages starting from September with the relaunch of the Alif and Terra pavilions.
"After the historic success of Expo 2020 Dubai, visited by over 24 million people, which left its mark on the 170-year history of world exhibitions, today we announce the transformation of the exhibition venue into Expo City Dubai, a new city that represents the ambitions of Dubai ". Sheikh Mohammed wrote.
Expo City Dubai will be the venue for the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) on climate change to be held in November 2023.
The announcement was made by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and comes after unanimous approval by the Asia Pacific Group of Nations during COP26, in Glasgow, where nearly 200 countries gathered to undertake concerted action to limit global greenhouse gas emissions and united against climate change.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said: “We are delighted and honored by the UNFCCC's decision to select the UAE to host the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in 2023 and to commit as a nation to support the entire international community in accelerating our joint efforts to overcome the real threat of climate change ”.
What is Expo City Dubai
Expo City Dubai will be a center of economic activity in full respect of the environment that will appeal to families and future generations.
Expo City Dubai - the legacy plan of Expo 2020 Dubai and part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan - builds on the resounding success of Expo 2020 Dubai, to create a technologically advanced city of the future.
The new city will be accessible via the Dubai Metro and will be a 24-hour neighborhood.
Expo City Dubai will also include a new museum, a world-class exhibition center, as well as a few pavilions like the women's one, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Details of other national pavilions, including reworked versions of Luxembourg, Australia, Pakistan, India, Morocco and Egypt, will be announced in the coming months.
In addition, the city will feature offices, leisure facilities, dining and entertainment venues, and a shopping mall.
Dubai Exhibition Center (DEC), which was the site of global summits, conferences and concerts during Expo 2020 Dubai, will continue to host major events.
Old and new attractions
Of the three most visited attractions of Expo 2020 Dubai, the iconic Al Wasl Plaza, Garden in the Sky and Waterfall will remain.
Alif, the Mobility Pavilion and Earth, the Sustainability Pavilion, will be interactive educational places. By the end of the year, the Opportunity Pavilion will become the “Expo 2020 Dubai Museum” to celebrate the success of the first semester of exhibitions in Arab territory, the history and impact of world exhibitions.
Ban on single use plastic
Expo City Dubai will be free of single-use plastics and will retain 80% of the infrastructure and buildings that have been built, including 123 LEED certified buildings, embodying the highest levels of sustainable design, construction and operations. It will also be the first WELL-certified community in the region, demonstrating the positive impact of the built environment on health and well-being.
Opportunities for companies
Expo City Dubai is already attracting the interest of a large number of companies. It will soon become the new headquarters of DP World, Siemens, start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Connect minds, create the future
Expo City Dubai is also a city connected to fond memories in the hearts and minds of millions of people.
"We will always connect minds and create the future, then and now", the words of Reem Al Hashimy, CEO of Expo 2020 Dubai and Minister of State for International Cooperation. Al Hashimy said the public will soon be able to relive the best memories of the world exhibition. "While Expo 2020 Dubai has closed its doors, Expo City Dubai will never do it".
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