On November 27, 2013, Dubai won the right to host World Expo 2020, the global showcase of innovation and ideas, by the widest winning margin in expo history. It was the clearest reinforcement of Dubai’s growing status as both an international city of standing and an important hub for major events and meetings.
Winning the expo, though, wasn’t simply about the day of the vote or the compelling final presentation by HE Reem Al Hashimi. It was about a multi-level, public-private project that, over the course of 24 months, was able to convince 116 of the 167 voting nations that Dubai could provide the ideal platform to express, exchange and evolve ideas to confront the challenges of the modern world.