It’s almost time – in another year Dubai will open its doors and welcome the entire world to what is staging up to be one of the most important events in modern times.
The Dubai Expo 2020 is a global event that will take place between the 20th of October, 2020 and the 10th of April, 2021 and will be the mecca of technology, sustainability and mobility for 173 days straight. 60 million people will flock to the city from over 190 different countries, each of which has their own pavilion to showcase their culture and diversity.
It is an event of mega proportions where the best minds of the world, political influencers and cultural heads meet to discuss and discover ways to sustain and our race through such challenging times.
What is the World Expo?
The World Expo is a convention and a global event where various countries meet at a designated location to showcase and highlight their achievements and contributions to the human race as a whole.
The World Expo has been the center-point and witness to many inventions in history like the steam engine, the automobile, the telephone, the TV and the computer – all of which now define modern life.
The London Exposition of 1851 is considered by many to be the first in a series of events that later became known as the World Expositions.
(Source: historic-uk.com, 2019)
A committee called the ‘Bureau International des Exposition’ or simply BIE with headquarters at Paris was set up on the 22nd of November, 1928 that now oversees the organization and safe conduct of all World Expositions.
Izmir in Turkey and Ayutthaya of Thailand submitted bids to the BIE in early 2011 to host the event thus initiating the six-month window for other cities to follow.
Dubai was actually late to the party and was considered an underdog at first but when the voting process ended in late November 2011, Dubai came out on top securing 116 of the total 164 votes in the final round.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said in an interview after the results that he is “proud of our teams who earned this victory for Dubai with two years of hard work, dedication and commitment. We renew our promise to astonish the world in 2020”.
Aspirations of Dubai Expo 2020
(Source: expo2020dubai.com, 2019)
The main theme and motto of Dubai Expo 2020 is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” with three further sub-themes – opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
The main central building, called the Al Wasl Plaza, features the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface on its dome and will host the main events of the Expo including the opening and ending ceremonies. This plaza further stretches out into 3 other thematic zones, one each for the 3 sub-themes.
A variety of events will take place during these 173 days including live concerts, product demonstrations, food hubs and performances by guest stars.
The stage is all set to showcase the technologies of tomorrow and the whole world is waiting with bated breath for the inauguration to begin.
The Auto Industry and Dubai Expo
(Source: nissan-global.com, 2019)
So what does the automobile industry have in store for us? We all know that the auto expo will feature loads of new technologies in all sectors, but Dubai being particularly interested in cars, will definitely go out of its way to shock the world.
We have been keeping up closely with the developments of the event and we are pleasantly surprised at just how much effort has gone into showcasing the latest technologies in the automobile industry.
Here is a list of things you can expect in World Expo Dubai 2020 – if cars are your interest:
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Partnership with Nissan:
Soon after the results of the poll were announced, the government started releasing names of the partners that will be closely associated with the event.
One of the names announced during this time was Nissan, the automobile giant from Japan, who quickly started mobilizing their teams to strengthen operations in Dubai. Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility Project also got a kickstart in order to showcase the latest in their field of automobile engineering.
Nissan announced later that they will be providing the city with 1000 eco-friendly cars like the Nissan Leaf, in order to facilitate and promote their cause. They also revealed plans to boost Dubai’s intelligent self-driving car market, which has garnered a lot of interest in the recent past with the release of the Nissan Leaf, a zero-emission electric car.
Nissan also revealed their concept car Bladeglider Blaze in the 2017 Dubai International Motor Show, so we know Nissan has big plans here!
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Demand Drive:
Expo Dubai 2020 will see a massive influx of traffic from all over the world and the automobile service industry is extremely excited about the same.
Many professionals in the field have reported that there will be a huge surge in demand in the industry-leading to overall increased sales and revenue. They speculate that a large number of people flocking to the city at once will pose challenges in mobility and since most people in Dubai like to drive to their destinations, this will be a welcome surge in the market.
Not only will the big names in the industry thrive, but also small businesses that provide secondary services to cars will benefit from the same.
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Hired Services:
It is expected that most people who will fly in from other countries will not have direct access to a car. It is also expected that people who come to the country for this event will also travel to neighboring tourist destinations to make the most of their visit.
Hence, their first choice will be to rent a car for themselves. Those who do not have licenses or the permit to drive will also sign up for a pick-up and drop service in order to get around the city. This means a major rise in demand in the car rental industry along with other cab services.
Companies like Uber are already taking steps to ensure that they can handle the surge and cater to all their customers. They have also revealed plans to increase the number of luxury cars in their garages in addition to their standard cars, you know, just in case.
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Innovative Technology:
In addition to a new range of cars, we are sure World Expo 2020 in Dubai will mark the reveal of several new technologies.
The leading area of interest in the industry right now is a complete paradigm shift when it comes to power and emissions, where companies are quickly adopting electricity as the main driving force in their vehicles. This shift is mainly due to the environmental concerns and efficiency of these systems.
However, we are sure that there is more here than what meets the eye! Like the Nissan Leaf, all leading names in the industry are producing their own zero-emission prototypes that are able to generate power on the go. We feel a lot of them will be revealed to the public for the first time in Dubai Expo 2020.
In addition to that, we are also looking forward to learning about the latest developments in the field of AI and driverless cars, which we are sure there will be plenty of as well.
These are our top picks for stuff that car-enthusiasts can look forward to in Dubai Expo 2020. What are you looking forward to this Expo 2020? Let us know in the comments below!
