Anthony Piovesan
Malaga is about to host the Davis Cup tennis final, has just secured a direct flight route to New York and is now a step closer to hosting a huge international event.
The Andalucian port city is officially in the running to host Expo 2027, a global five-month event that brings together visitors from 192 countries.
This week the Bureau of International Expositions’ (BIE) deemed Malaga as a suitable candidate to host the important event five years from now.
The event has the potential to transform the host city for years to come, attracting tens of millions of visitors.
London hosted the first Expo in 1851 – since then the events have grown and provide five months of activities, exhibitioons, and inspiration on ways to make cities more liveable and sustainable.
Spain has hosted the event before, in fact it was in Andalucia also, when Sevilla played host in 1992.
Malaga is the fifth final candidate, along with Minnesota in USA, Phuket in Thailand, Belgrade in Serbia and the Argentinian city of San Carlos de Bariloche.
Officials from each destination submitted a proposal detailing how they planned to host the event, and the benefits it would bring to that city.
Malaga’s proposal, deemed “feasible, viable and in line with the rules” by the BIE, was labeled ‘The Urban Era: Towards the Sustainable City’.
It included a projected host date of June 5 – September 5, 2027, outlined €859 million to house the event and earmarked land at Buenavista to build the main site.
An enormous ring-shaped building 560m in diameter would be constructed on the land on the outskirts of Malaga, and would be used to host the Expo pavilions around a central space of gardens, restaurants, and a theatre.
The proposal also suggested the Expo would generate €321m, of which €136m would be from ticket sales and attract 3.1 million people to Malaga.
Of the €859m the Expo would cost, €602m was set aside for the construction of the main site and €256m for operating expenses.
A total of €504m would come from the central government, the Junta, city council and provincial authority.
Malaga will officially find out if it wins the rights to host the event at the final round in November in Paris next year.
The next World Expo will take place in Osaka in Japan between April 13 and October 13 in 2025.
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