World Expo 2020 in Dubai is pushed back to 2021

A World body tentatively approved Dubai’s request to move its Expo 2020 world’s fair to next year over the coronavirus pandemic yesterday.

The Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions’ executive committee said its member states will vote on the proposal to move the event to October 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022. It expects a final vote count by May 29.

The proposal requires a two-thirds approval, but it appears likely to pass.

The bureau’s executive committee unanimously backed the proposal.

“I am confident when the time is right, Expo 2020 Dubai will constitute the best platform to build, with renewed optimism and hope, a better and brighter future for all,” bureau secretary general Dimitri S Kerkentzes said.

Dubai, a sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates, has bet billions of dollars on the event to rejuvenate its troubled economy.