Russia submitted today a letter of candidature to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) to organiseWorld Expo 2025in Yekaterinburg.

The letter, from the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, was today handed to the Secretary General of the BIE Vicente G. Loscertales, by Mr. Aledsandr Turov, delegate of the Russian Federation to the BIE.

Russia’s candidature for Yekaterinburg is based on the theme “Changing the World: Inclusive Innovations – for Our Kids and Future Generations”, and the Expo would be open from 2 May to 2 November 2025.

Russia’s candidature follows that of France, submitted on 22 November 2016, and of Japan, submitted on 24 April 2017.

The final deadline for the submission of candidatures is today, 22 May 2017, at 6pm (Paris time).

Acknowledging receipt of the letter of candidature, BIE Secretary General Vicente G. Loscertales stated that “this third candidature demonstrates a high level of interest in World Expos. Candidates will shortly enter the examination phase of Expo 2025 allowing the BIE to gain a deeper understanding of each project.”

The project examination phase for World Expo 2025 will take place over the next year and a half. Each candidate will submit a bid dossier in September 2017, to be followed by a BIE Enquiry Mission in early 2018. Candidates will also present their Expo project during each General Assembly between now and the final vote. The election of the host country by the 170 Member States of the BIE will take place at the 164th General Assembly in November 2018.

World Expos, known officially as International Registered Exhibitions, are organised every five years. They can last up to six months, and international participants can build their own pavilions on the Expo site. The themes of World Expos are designed to raise awareness of and find responses to universal challenges of our time. The most recent World Expo was held in the city of Milan, Italy, in 2015, under the theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. Thenext World Expo will take place in Dubai(UAE) between 20 October 2020 and 10 April 2021 under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”.