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The city of Dubai was chosen to host Expo 2020, which was postponed to October 2021 due to the pandemic. This gave the event organizers more time to build more pavilions and refine the event's infrastructure.
Expo Dubai 2020
The theme of this edition is 'Connection Minds, Creating the Future' and is based on the belief that innovation and progress are the result of the union of people and ideas. It is the world's largest mega-event (4.38km2), with more operating time, with more visitors than the World Cup or Olympics. Over time and with the advent of new communication technologies, the purpose of the world expo has changed and the Dubai edition gave the 191 participating countries the opportunity to present their country freely within the pillars of the edition:
- Opportunity
- Sustainability
- Mobility
With an investment of more than R$ 35 billion and impeccable infrastructure, Expo Dubai 2020 was the largest in history in size, in investment and also the first to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
A true show of architecture and audiovisual technologies marked Expo Dubai 2020. The enormous pavilions of the world's major powers stood out, such as China, the United States, South Korea and some European countries. The main attraction and the largest investment was for the pavilion of the United Arab Emirates, the hosts.
Watch the video below:
Getting to know the United Arab Emirates
It is not possible to talk about Expo Dubai 2020 without talking about the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Before the formation of the UAE, each emirate was a British protectorate, previously controlled by the British crown and which after independence managed to obtain military protection from England to guarantee local stability, since they are located near Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan and other Persian Gulf countries in civil war, holy war or territorial disputes.
One of the newest countries in the world emerged from the union of seven independent emirates that sought cooperation, stability and economic development. The main emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have one of the highest HDI scores in the Arab world and the population is composed mostly of foreigners who moved there in search of opportunities. The local currency is the Dirham (1 AED = R$ 1.55), but other currencies such as the Euro and Dollar are widely accepted.
The emirates are controlled by their respective Sheikh, or Emir, in a hereditary central government, passing power to the eldest son, just as European royal families operated.
Getting to know Dubai
Unlike its neighbor Abu Dhabi, which gets much of its revenue from oil and natural gas exploration, Dubai had to reinvent itself when it was identified that its reserves would not be sufficient to develop the country. It was then that Sheikh Zayed Al Maktoum, father of the current ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, decided to develop Dubai in a different way. With a main focus on tourism, business and real estate development, Dubai has grown exponentially in recent years. The city houses 30% of all cranes in the world to accelerate civil construction in the region.
Dubai for tourism
To promote tourism, bold developments were built to attract tourists to the region, such as the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, the world's largest aquarium, which houses more than 10 species of sharks, the world's largest Ferris wheel, in addition to hundreds of hotels, including the most luxurious in the world located on one of the artificial islands.
Dubai for business
In business, Dubai surprises with its skyscrapers and bold architectural projects, hosts major sporting events, business fairs and has an attractive business promotion system with various innovation centers that attract entrepreneurs from all over the world to take advantage of its free zones, called Free Zones. There are various sectors of the economy that receive tax incentives, with a guarantee of 25 years of exemption, ease of opening companies, ease of moving funds in various currencies, shared offices, office services and many others, all provided by the government. The city also houses the world's largest port and one of the busiest airports in the world. Due to its strategic location in the Persian Gulf, it has become a hub between the East and the West.
