- AX Blog
- Results of Expo 2020 in Dubai
Expo 2020, Dubai has become a global event. The exposition, which lasted from October 1st, 2021 to March 31st, 2022, was visited by 24 million people from more than 190 countries. Experts agree that the event was fantastically successful and spurred the development of the economy of Dubai and the UAE, including the local real estate market. What can we say about the results of the exhibition now, more than six months after its completion?
Содержание:
- What is Expo 2020?
- What was Expo 2020 dedicated to?
- How many countries took part in Expo 2020?
- Expo 2020 Dubai results in numbers.
- Expo 2020 pavilions that will remain forever.
- What awaits Dubai after the closing of Expo 2020?
- Will property prices drop in Dubai after Expo 2020?
What is Expo 2020?
Expo 2020 has become the latest edition of the world exhibition that has been held in different cities of the world since 1851. According to Aram Grigoryan, Senior Consultant of the AX CAPITAL real estate agency in Dubai, “it is the kind of platform for demonstrating the development of countries with an emphasis on achievements in technology”. This is the first world exhibition of its kind held in the Middle East.
Originally, it was supposed to be held in Dubai in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic forced adjustments, and the exhibition was postponed for a year. This, however, did not diminish its popularity. When Expo 2020 opened in the autumn of 2021, investors and newsmakers from all over the world flocked to Dubai.
With the “Connecting minds, creating the future” slogan, the event offered daily festivals, concerts, expositions and conferences, becoming a platform where cutting-edge ideas were combined with innovations. Here you could taste 3D-printed food, build a robot, ride the world’s largest passenger elevator, and enjoy stunning light shows under the Al Wasl Dome, housing the world’s largest 360-degree projection screen.
As for the business part, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce organised 98 events during the exhibition, which were attended by more than 25,000 people from 130 countries, held 1,500 bilateral business meetings between UAE investors and their global counterparts, and hosted 1,746 delegations from over 60 countries as well as 3,350 government and business representatives.
According to Aram Grigoryan, “the exhibition, which retained the name Expo 2020, allowed guests to return to 2020 and relive it without worries and lockdowns but with new technologies.”
What was Expo 2020 dedicated to?
The main venue for Expo 2020 was the 438-hectare neighborhood of Dubai South, located between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Three large-scale thematic areas unfolded around the central Al Wasl Plaza. These were:
- The Opportunity District;
- The Mobility District;
- The Sustainability District.
Opportunity District was designed to unleash the potential of each participant and inspire visitors to become co-creators of future change. “Even one person can be the key to unlocking eight billion opportunities to help individuals and communities create a better tomorrow,” the organisers said.
Mobility District blurred the line between the physical and digital worlds, where one could see the latest achievements in the field of communications, information and space technologies, as well as new travel solutions.
The Sustainability District presented cutting-edge environmental developments. This district was home to the Terra pavilion covered with 4,912 solar panels. There you could also view the energy trees, which together, could generate 4 GWh of alternative energy annually, enough to charge more than 900,000 mobile phones. In addition, Expo 2020 featured themed weeks on water, climate, biodiversity, and urban and rural development.
How many countries took part in Expo 2020?
192 countries took part in Expo 2020. Moreover, this edition was the first where each participating country hosted its own unique pavilion. For instance, in Luxembourg’s pavilion, a giant slide made of stainless steel and plexiglass was erected for children and adults, in the German pavilion, a dry pool with 100,000 balls was erected, each of which, upon contact with the scanner, told an interesting fact about the environment and its defenders, and at the Emirates’ pavilion, you could build your own aircraft.
Every day at Expo 2020, the national days of the participating countries were held with performances, expositions and tastings. Dubai has brought together ideas, peoples and cultures from all over the world.
Expo 2020 Dubai results in numbers.
During the 182 days that the exhibition lasted, more than 24 million people visited the venue, and 30% of them (more than 7 million guests) were foreigners. These are impressive figures, given the restrictions due to the pandemic that were still in effect in the world. The oldest guest was 98 years old.
The exhibition was visited by 107,000 people with disabilities, who are referred to as “people of determination” in the UAE. The organisers made the environment as inclusive as possible so that everyone could enjoy Expo 2020. The online event was visited about 200 million times.
A total of 217 pavilions worked at the exhibition. The pavilions of India, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, Russia, France and the USA were the most popular.
Expo 2020 pavilions that will remain forever.
Few people know that the Eiffel Tower was erected for the Expo in France in 1889, and after the event, it had to be demolished. However, the spectacular tower not only survived but also became a symbol for the whole country.
Dubai followed this tradition and decided to surpass it, by becoming the only city in the more than 170-year history of the exhibition where 80% of the buildings and infrastructure will remain after the end of the exhibition and will turn into an innovative district of Expo City Dubai (District 2020).
Some pavilions will also remain on the territory of Expo 2020 indefinately. These are the pavilions of the UAE, Morocco, India, Saudi Arabia and Luxembourg as well as:
- The Al Wasl Plaza;
- The terra Pavilion;
- The Mobility Pavilion;
- The Opportunity Pavilion;
- The Vision Pavilion.
What awaits Dubai after the closing of Expo 2020?
The new district, which will appear on the site of the exhibition, will be an environmentally friendly, human-oriented community with cutting-edge technologies and first-class Expo 2020 infrastructure.
“This is the ecosystem of the future. All conditions for living and working in an urban environment will be created here and all facilities will be accessible within 15 minutes. In a word, this is the city of the future,” says Aram Grigoryan.
The names of some of the companies that will open their offices in Expo City are already known. These are Siemens, Accenture and Shanghai Atlas Capital. The expert notes that if there are investment opportunities in the area, they should be seized.
How has Expo 2020 affected the Dubai property market?
According to Aram Grigoryan, there are objective indicators of growth in the Dubai property market – an increase in the number of visitors to the UAE, the opening of new businesses and the prosperity of existing ones. Thus, 76% of existing companies recorded business growth during Expo 2020. However, the expert puts forward his own hypothesis as to why the emirate’s real estate market is growing and will continue to grow steadily through the next cycle.
More than 7 million foreigners visited the World Expo, and each of them saw Dubai and the opportunities that it offers, such as its security, the latest technological solutions, a strong economic structure and residents of different nationalities and faiths. These 7 million people will tell their families and friends what they’ve seen, which may make them consider being a part of it and wonder if they should invest in Dubai.
Is it worth investing in a country where it is safe and that (during the pandemic) was able to host 24 million people as part of the world exhibition, in a country where even if you buy real estate and it drops in price temporarily, the market enters a new cycle and beats the previous record, where it has the ideal climate all year round, except for a couple of summer months (let’s not forget the benefits of the sun)? The expert invites you to answer these questions yourself.
Will property prices drop in Dubai after Expo 2020?
As Aram Grigoryan notes, “this is very unlikely to happen, since the rise in real estate prices in the emirate is not due to the exhibition alone. There are many other factors that affect the market. Expo 2020 helped a wide range of people understand what Dubai is like. In addition, there were no sharp jumps in real estate prices in the emirate, respectively, experts do not expect sharp drops either.
If you are thinking about buying property in Dubai for permanent residence, as a second home, or for investment, please contact us at AX CAPITAL. Our team will advise you on all issues related to buying an overseas home, help you choose a profitable and high-quality housing option and take care of all the paperwork.