The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) has closed the candidature period for Specialised Expo 2022/23. Four countries have submitted competing bids to organise Specialised Expo 2022/23: the Republic of Poland, the United States of America, the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of Argentina.

The 169 Member States of the BIE will elect the host country of Specialised Expo 2022/23 at the 162nd General Assembly in November 2017.

Poland’s bid is for a Specialised Expo in the city of lodz between 15 June and 15 September 2022 under the theme “City Re:Invented.”

The United States’ bid is for a Specialised Expo in Minneapolis between 15 May and 15 August 2023 under the theme “Wellness and Well Being for All: Healthy People, Healthy Planet.” The United States is not a Member State of the BIE.*

Brazil’s bid is for a Specialised Expo in Rio de Janeiro between 4 March and 27 May 2022 under the theme “Metropolitan Cities and Sustainability: Cross Border Potentials.”

Argentina’s bid is for a Specialised Expo in Buenos Aires between 15 January and 15 April 2023 under the theme “Science, Innovation, Art and Creativity for the Human Development.”

The Secretary General of the BIE, Vicente G. Loscertales, stated that “these four candidatures demonstrate a high level of interest for this type of Expo.” The project examination phase for Specialised Expo 2022/23 will take place over the next few months. Each candidate will submit a bid dossier, to be followed by a BIE Enquiry Mission. The projects will then be presented to the General Assembly of the BIE on 14 June 2017. The election of the host country by the 169 Member States of the BIE will take place at the subsequent General Assembly in November 2017.

Specialised Expos, known officially as International Recognised Exhibitions, can be organised in the interval between two World Expos. They can last up to three months and are designed to respond to a precise challenge facing humanity. The most recent Specialised Expo was held in the city of Yeosu in the Republic of Korea in 2012, which attracted over 8 million visitors under the theme “The Living Ocean and Coast”. The next Specialised Expo is to take place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, between 10 June and 10 September 2017 under the theme “Future Energy”.