Busan in tight race with Saudi Arabia to host World Expo 2030

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, fifth from left, speaks to reporters about the city's preparations to host the World Expo 2030 during a press conference held at the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center, Feb. 17. Courtesy of KCCI

By Kim Hyun-bin

South Korea is making significant progress in the race to host the World Expo 2030 in Busan as it competes against main rival Saudi Arabia, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon said at a press conference hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). He emphasized that hosting the Expo will generate 61 trillion won ($46.9 billion) in economic effects.

"We started out in very unfavorable conditions in the beginning in the bid to host the Expo in Busan, but now we have gained momentum and many countries are showing positive reactions about the Expo being hosted in Busan," Park said at the press conference held at the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center on Feb 17.

The venue for the World Expo 2030 will be decided by a vote of 171 member countries at the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris this November.

Busan's strongest competitor is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is launching a strong offensive backed by oil money promising large investments in the voting countries.

“Around this time last year, I thought that Korea was the only country that actually supported Korea, but as a result of a year of hard work, we now see that the number of countries that have expressed their support, even implicitly, has come close to that for Saudi Arabia,” he said. "However, it is too early to say where the market has tilted as there are many countries that will make a decision after July or August after looking at the results of the due diligence."

The BIE inspection team will conduct inspections on four candidate countries ― Korea, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Ukraine ― for about a month, starting with Saudi Arabia on March 6. The visit to Korea is scheduled for April 2 to 7.

The due diligence report prepared by the BIE after an in-depth evaluation of the candidate country's capacity and preparation level will be provided to all member countries and used as the basis for the vote.

"We will have to prepare diligently for the due diligence in April and impress the due diligence team," Park said. "What the inspection team sees is whether it is equipped with the infrastructure, whether there are various accommodation facilities, whether the site is suitable, how enthusiastic the citizens and the people are and the participation of the central government.”

Among the evaluation criteria of the inspection team, public enthusiasm and support for hosting the Expo account for a large portion.

In response, Busan is set to designate the period before and after the BIE inspection team's visit as “Expo Week” to carry out various promotional activities. The business community will also hold an event for the due diligence team during this period and operate domestic and international promotions for the event.

Park also asked ChatGPT, an interactive artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, about the benefits the Expo host country can expect and shared the results.

The answer given by ChatGPT is the expansion of economic profits through increased investment and job creation, rising national brand, expansion of new infrastructure, revitalization of the local economy and buildings and facilities becoming cultural and historical heritage even after the Expo.

"If Korea becomes the seventh country in the world to host a registered Expo following the Olympics and World Cup, it has a symbolic meaning for Korea to leap forward as one of the seven advanced countries," the mayor said. “It has been confirmed through past events that the Expo is able to create two to three times more economic effects than the Olympics or World Cup.”

The economic effects expected from the Expo in Busan total 61 trillion won, including 43 trillion won in production inducement and 18 trillion won in added value, the mayor added.