Davos – Saudi Arabia’s bid to host World Expo 2030 in the Kingdom’s capital is an investment for the future of the city and its residents, said H.E. Fahd Al-Rasheed, CEO of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
H.E. Al-Rasheed said Riyadh Expo 2030 will be an unforgettable experience of mass engagement and enduring legacy. “We aspire to provide an unforgettable experience at the site of the exhibition, and to activate the efficiency of its use in the best way, as we aim to be an interactive experience that leaves a distinctive memory,” he said.
“We’re thinking about the legacy of the site itself and how it can be used. It cannot just be built and then everybody packs their bags and leaves. It has to be used beyond us. So, we’re thinking about the design of the buildings, and we have a masterplan in a way that we can use them for the future of work, the future of education and re-skilling,” H.E. Al-Rasheed elaborated.
The Riyadh Expo 2030 will be the largest exhibition and will witness unprecedented mass participation. “It is literally going to be the largest event in the world and so, not only are we going to get 30 to 40 million people to the site, which is fantastic… it’s a record. We’re going to get a billion people to interact with it on the Metaverse and we are now translating that vision into reality,” said H.E. Al-Rasheed.
“You’d give a billion persons the opportunity to actually come and see it, and that would be the first win”, he continued, adding that “The second win is they would actually come in and do something experiential about water use and energy use, learn something and apply it in their home. That will get you a mass impact.”
H.E. Al-Rasheed mentioned that the proposed Riyadh Expo 2030 site is located near King Khalid International Airport and will be connected to the Riyadh Metro network. He added that Riyadh’s hotel capacity will reach around 124,000 hotel rooms, and that the Kingdom– which hosts millions of pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah every year– has the capacity to welcome large gatherings.
“Building a site of this complexity would not happen without a cost, as Saudi Arabia will invest a huge amount to turn these plans into reality. However, we have set a target for the return on investment from financial, social and economic goals that include job creations before, during, and after the exhibition period”, he added.
Talking about the significance of Riyadh Expo 2030 theme ‘Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow’, H.E. Fahd Al-Rasheed explained: “The responsibility for shaping our future rests with all of us– countries, companies and individuals– as we must anticipate the coming decades. we look at the opportunities that will appear before us and learn about future challenges and face them resolutely, so that we can address them, and that is why Riyadh Expo 2030 will be organized under this theme. We will also have three sub-themes which are ‘A Different Tomorrow’, ‘Climate Action’, and ‘Prosperity for All’.”
H.E. Al-Rasheed concluded his speech by saying: “We always renew our commitment to sustainability, and that is why we launched last year the Riyadh Sustainability Strategy, which helps our goals towards achieving sustainable economic growth.”
The forum was attended by delegates from the World Economic Forum, businessmen, journalists, and investors.
