Riyadh pulls out all the stops in its bid to host World Expo 2030

euronews (in English)

Riyadh is hoping that huge investment in its infrastructure - from public transport to business, education and the arts - will boost its bid for the World Expo 2030.

Transcript

00:00 Expo is an amazing global event that brings minds together with great thoughts and innovation.

00:09 And with what Riyadh is doing right now, it's a really perfect time for an event like that

00:15 to happen in Riyadh.

00:20 Riyadh city, one of the fastest growing capitals in the world and a thriving metropolis.

00:25 Part of the country's 2030 Vision Masterplan for the transformation of it includes a bid

00:30 backed by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City to host the World Expo 2030 with a budget

00:36 of 7.2 billion euros.

00:39 World Expos are global events that aim to find solutions to challenges to humanity and

00:44 create a dynamic space to activate change.

00:47 We are expecting when we build Expo that everybody will participate.

00:54 We are talking about people either from construction point of view or from a content point of view,

00:59 from design point of view, from every aspect that people from all, from China, from Korea,

01:07 from Italy, from England, from Africa, everybody will participate.

01:13 And this is for the world and also the kingdom already announced that they will help every

01:19 country that they will have their pavilion there.

01:21 So we want this to be unprecedented Expo.

01:26 All the people will participate and they will show their value, their tradition, their everything

01:31 and share it with others.

01:34 The capital of Saudi Arabia is home to over 7.5 million residents, over 40% of whom are

01:40 expats who are witnessing big changes in the infrastructure of the kingdom from business

01:46 to the arts to education.

01:48 Townhouse is Riyadh's first British international school for girls and has a pledge to motivate

01:55 and inspire.

01:56 It was really important to me when we opened up here in Riyadh to bring the best of the

02:01 British curriculum because we know that that is a world class way of teaching but also

02:06 to make sure that we really took on board the culture of the country that we are in.

02:11 And so as well as British teachers teaching to a really high level in our curriculum,

02:17 we also offer a full curriculum of Arabic language, Islamic studies and social studies.

02:23 And that is Ministry of Education approved here.

02:25 It's really important to our families no matter how much they want Saudi Arabia to be part

02:31 of the global stage that their culture is recognised and that the Arabic language stays

02:36 alive.

02:37 And that's really important for us too.

02:39 Whether that is our Saudi families or whether it is the enormous number of families that

02:43 are moving here from across the world for the many work opportunities that are available

02:48 here.

02:49 Riyadh's art and cultural scene is booming.

02:52 Riyadh's season is one of the world's largest winter entertainment events covering art,

02:57 music, theatre, food and sport.

03:00 In addition, Middle Beast Soundstorm is the biggest musical event in the Middle East,

03:05 attracting over 200 international and national artists.

03:17 Andrew Lloyd Webber's award-winning theatre production, The Phantom of the Opera, has

03:21 recently opened in Riyadh, much to the delight of theatre fans.

03:26 It's very important not just for the kingdom but I think for the international kind of

03:31 touring world that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is now on the map as far as a place to come

03:37 and perform whatever your show is.

03:39 It could be on the way to Asia, it could be on the way to Europe.

03:42 This is a perfect stopping point for anybody looking to extend a tour and we've been able

03:47 to take advantage of that with shows like Phantom of the Opera.

03:51 Winning the expo bid is seen as being an integral part to the continued transformation of this

03:56 regional hub for creative arts.

03:59 I've been lucky enough to be involved on the periphery with a number of expos over the

04:04 last 20 or 30 years and each time you see these fantastic developments in cities and

04:10 I think if Riyadh is able to stage the expo in 2030 we'll see exactly the same here.

04:15 We'll see many, many more people with the opportunity to come and visit the city and

04:19 we'll see many, many more artists and productions and local productions start to develop as

04:24 a result of that.

04:26 Lee Starks is a boxer and trainer from New Jersey in the U.S.

04:29 Based in Riyadh, he gives credit to the city for providing an optimum environment for professional

04:34 sporting stars.

04:36 I also train fighters in Cameroon, Bangkok and in Dubai.

04:41 Here there's no distractions for the athletes so the athletes can actually physically train

04:46 and have mental preparation better here.

04:49 Also with the heat they have great training running up and down in the hills and that

04:53 kind of thing.

04:54 It helps their stamina, it helps their progress as an athlete much better.

05:00 The Riyadh bid focuses on a main theme, the era of change together for a foresighted tomorrow.

05:06 It will include one pavilion for each country that takes part under the One Nation, One

05:11 Pavilion commitment.

05:13 The Collaborative Change Corner C3 will be an area dedicated to driving innovation and

05:18 youth supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs.

05:23 The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Saudi is part of everything.

05:27 You can have every aspect of that cycle by even finding investors, finding the right

05:32 partners, getting into the business, solving the problems.

05:36 Everything can be done here and now with the new leadership is the biggest support for

05:41 the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.

05:44 The Zero Carbon Initiative of Saudi Expo 2030 takes center stage of the bid and ambitiously

05:50 aims to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce carbon emissions.

05:55 It's also developing sustainable transport infrastructure, promoting a circular economy

06:00 model and fostering energy efficient buildings.

06:04 The planned expo site covers an area of 6 million square meters and expects to attract

06:09 40 million site visits.

06:12 It will be a five minute drive from the capital's airport and will be connected by the city's

06:16 new metro system.

06:19 With the metro we have six lines going to be completed and it's almost 170 kilometers

06:25 in length and it's maybe the only project being done at that size, 170 at one time.

06:35 And that will link the airport with the expo location, with the city, with the downtown,

06:42 with all important places in the city.

06:45 In addition to a series of new sustainable developments that are being constructed at

06:50 an unprecedented pace will be King Salman Park, an urban development in the heart of

06:55 the city where 70% of the project represents green space.

07:00 The park's developers believe that Expo 2030 Riyadh will showcase opportunity within the

07:05 Saudi ecosystem.

07:07 It's going to bring immense awareness and understanding of the opportunity that exists

07:14 here within Riyadh and beyond.

07:17 As I say there's a lot of people who are just exploring at this point in time.

07:21 There's many people probably who have misperceptions about what Saudi Arabia is like, what opportunity

07:26 it represents.

07:27 And if we're able to bring the world expo here in 2030 all eyes will be upon Riyadh

07:33 and it will be a great opportunity to introduce this market to people who don't know enough

07:38 about it yet but then will find great opportunity to come in and join us.

07:42 As competition heats up between Riyadh and the other two bidding cities, Rome and Busan,

07:48 Saudi hopes their international campaign has proven Riyadh is ready to welcome the world.

07:53 [Music]

07:57 you

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