Representatives of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) have completed their Enquiry Mission as part of the examination of Ukraine’s candidature to organise World Expo 2030 in Odesa under the theme “Renaissance. Technology. Future.”. Due to the current circumstances, the Enquiry Mission was organised at the BIE headquarters in Paris with face-to-face and virtual sessions.

　　Members of the Enquiry Mission, led by the President of the Rules Committee, Aldwin Dekkers, looked into all aspects of the Expo project submitted by Ukraine and laid out in its candidature dossier.

　　Members of the Enquiry Mission received detailed presentations of the candidature project

　　Over the course of two days, they received detailed presentations of the candidature project and virtually exchanged with national and local officials. The BIE delegation held face-to-face meetings with Oleksandra Vasylenko, Director of the Department General for Economic Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kyrylo Kryvolap, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine and Associate Partner of CIVITTA, Yevgen Lyevyenberg, Head of the Public Council of Expo 2030 NGO, Yevgeniya Pozigun, Associate at Zaha Hadid Architects, Anatolii Zyrianov, Advisor to the Deputy Head of the Odesa Regional State, and Yevhenii Kartavyi, Delegate of Ukraine to the BIE. Virtual sessions were also organised, notably with Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, and Roman Grygoryshyn, Deputy Head of the Odesa Regional State Administration.

　　Members of the Enquiry Mission, led by the President of the BIE Rules Committee, Aldwin Dekkers, met virtually with Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine

　　The candidature dossier submitted by Ukraine outlines a vision for a World Expo addressing the role of humankind in the technological future and looking at progress through the prism of humanity and sustainable development. The Expo would be held between 26 April and 14 October 2030 on a 260-hectare site located in Odesa on former irrigation fields between the Black Sea and the Khadzhibey Estuary. The candidature committee forecasts that it would receive 19.1 million visitors during its opening period.

　　The Enquiry Mission for the candidature of Ukraine is the second to be carried out as part of the project evaluation phase for World Expo 2030. The first, for the candidature of Saudi Arabia, took place earlier in March, and the others – for the candidature of the Republic of Korea and the candidature of Italy are scheduled in the next two months. The findings of the Enquiry Missions will be discussed by the BIE’s Executive Committee in May 2023, which will decide to forward to the General Assembly the candidatures it considers to be feasible and viable. In November 2023, during the 173rd General Assembly of the BIE, the host country of World Expo 2030 will be elected via secret ballot by BIE Member States, on the principle of one country, one vote.

　　World Expos, officially known as International Registered Exhibitions, are global gatherings of nations addressing universal challenges of our time. These unparalleled global events offer a journey inside a chosen theme through engaging and immersive activities. Taking place every five years and lasting up to six months, World Expos welcome tens of millions of visitors, allow countries to build extraordinary pavilions, and transform the host city for years to come.

　　The most recent World Expo, Expo 2020 Dubai, took place under the theme “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, and received over 24 million. The next World Expo will take place in Osaka, Kansai, Japan, between 13 April and 13 October 2025, under the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”.