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Belgrade prepared to host ЕXPО 2027

Belgrade, 15 September 2022

The Ministry of Finance announced that the delegation of the International Bureau of Exhibitions (Bureau International des Expositions–BIE), whose task is to assess Serbia's capacities and possibilities for holding the specialised exhibition EXPO 2027, for which our country has submitted a candidacy, completed its visit to Belgrade today.

The proposal of the Republic of Serbia is that the specialised exhibition "BELGRADE EXPO 2027" with the theme "Play for Humanity - Sport and Music for All" be held in Belgrade from 15 May to 15 August 2027.

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting with the delegation of the International Bureau of Exhibitions, Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali expressed the hope that Belgrade will be chosen as the host of this prestigious event.

We are competing with five cities in the world to win this extremely important event for us. We used the past few days to show the delegation from Paris all our trump cards, all the reasons why we think that the city of Belgrade and Serbia should host such a prestigious event, Mali said.

Mali pointed out that this would be the culmination of all reforms and all efforts to make Serbia a modern and strong economy, and in the last two years, the Serbian economy has been the fastest growing economy in Europe.

We managed, despite the coronavirus and the energy crisis and the interruption of supply chains in the world, as well as the conflict in Ukraine, to help our economy with €8.8 billion to maintain the current level of employment, and in the second quarter of this year, we had an unemployment rate of only 8.9 percent, said Mali.

According to him, despite all the adversities that the whole world and Europe are facing, Serbia has managed to preserve stability, maintained economic growth, and therefore wants to present itself in a different light.

That is why we believe that EXPO 2027 is a great opportunity for both the region and Belgrade to show our past success, but also an additional incentive to be even better in the future, emphasised the Minister of Finance.

The Minister of Finance noted that the last exhibition of this type in the region of Southeast Europe was held in 1991 in Plovdiv, so Belgrade has the opportunity to bring the EXPO to the region of Southeast Europe after more than three decades, which would also be the first organisation of such a manifestation on the territory of the Western Balkans, which puts the entire region in the focus of the international public.

That is why it is important that EXPO comes to this part of Europe. With the initiative called "Open Balkans", the Balkans without borders, which includes Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania, but we want other countries to be included too, EXPO is a huge opportunity for Belgrade and Serbia to show that we are the center of the region, and when it comes to politics and culture and sports and the economy, let's show that the entire region can grow together and be much stronger, the Minister of Finance underlined.

If we were to host EXPO 2027, Mali pointed out, it is expected that approximately 2.6 million people would visit Belgrade, with four million visits, and the total estimated economic effect would amount to €1.1 billion, of which €600 million direct and €500 million in indirect effects, in terms of impact on tourism and other industries.

The Minister of Finance recalled that Belgrade was the organiser of the Final Four, European Water Polo Championship, World Boxing Championship, last year we hosted the Non-Aligned Summit in Belgrade, and the World Wrestling Championship is also underway in Belgrade.

If we get the organisation of this prestigious event, the experience that our country gained as a participant in exhibitions of this type in the past, especially at the World Exhibition Dubai EXPO, where Serbia was very noticed, will certainly be important to us, the Minister of Finance pointed out.

He added that Serbia is also financially ready to host this event.

Mali said that the decision on the host country of the EXPO 2027 Special Exhibition will be made at the General Assembly of the International Bureau of Exhibitions in Paris in June 2023.

Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Tatjana Matic pointed out that she believes that Belgrade is the favourite for holding the EXPO 2027 exhibition.

When we talk about the tourism sector, Belgrade and Serbia, despite the crisis, recorded record results. In the first seven months of this year, we recorded a foreign exchange inflow of €969 million and at the moment over 2.6 million visitors with more than 8,600,000 overnight stays in Serbia, which is a great result, stated Matic, adding that the city of Belgrade has enormous potential and that it is a regional leader.

President of the BIE Executive Committee Alain Berger pointed out that he had constructive meetings in Belgrade, where there were no taboo topics and where nothing is questionable.

We have five candidate cities that have submitted applications. As part of the work of our office, we have a methodology for checking candidates, as well as sending a mission, and that is why we are in Belgrade this week. Based on that, we make a report, which is not an evaluation of the candidacy, but it shows whether all the necessary conditions have been met for a certain city to host the exhibition. Based on that, votes are then taken at the General Assembly, where 170 members vote, Berger said.

Berger also said that the delegation had excellent and constructive talks with the hosts in Serbia in the previous days.

Secretary-General of BIE Dimitri S. Kerkentzes underlined that EXPO 2027 is extremely important for the entire Balkans.

This is the first time that a specialized exhibition would be held in this region. We have learned that this project would further encourage the development of Belgrade and it would perfectly fit in what the city and the state want to achieve in the upcoming decades, Kerkentzes said.

Apart from Serbia, candidacy for the host of the Specialised Exhibition was submitted by the state of Bloomington (Minnesota, USA) with the theme "Healthy People, Healthy Planet: Wellness and Well Being for All", Phuket (Thailand) with the theme "Future of Life: Living in Harmony, Sharing Prosperity", Malaga (Spain) with the theme "The Urban Era: Towards the Sustainable City" and San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina).