The Executive Committee of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) has agreed to propose the postponement of Expo 2020 Dubai to the proposed dates of October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
This request was made after a meeting of the Expo 2020 Dubai Steering Committee on 30 March, in which participating countries expressed their need to postpone the Expo’s opening in order to overcome the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, the Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), stated: “World Expos are collective endeavours that express the shared international goal of progress for all humankind. I am confident that when the time is right, Expo 2020 Dubai will constitute the best platform to build, with renewed optimism and hope, a better and brighter future for all”
However, changing the dates of an Expo requires the support of a two-thirds majority of Member States of the BIE under Article 28 of the Paris Convention of 1928.
Therefore, the General Assembly will now be called upon to vote on the Executive Committee’s recommendation. Voting will be carried out remotely between on April 24 and May 29.
Members of the Committee – delegates of 12 Member States elected by the BIE’s General Assembly – met virtually on Tuesday to examine the change in dates requested by the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
