The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), an intergovernmental organization based in Paris that "supervises, promotes and develops" these events, holds Tuesday afternoon its general assembly, during which "three candidacies will be considered" for seven years, according to one of its press releases.

In competition: Rome, Busan (South Korea) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). Ukraine, which submitted an application file in September 2022 for Odessa, is no longer mentioned in this BIE text.

The first to arrive in Paris to defend his country's chances was Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). The Saudi prince, at the helm of a pharaonic development plan called "Vision 2030", would see with a very good eye that Riyadh hosts that same year the Universal Expo.

On Friday, MBS had lunch with the French president, who in July expressed "the support of the France for Riyadh's candidacy", to discuss major geopolitical themes (Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran)... ahead of the BIE AGM on Tuesday, in which he is unlikely to participate.

On Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron received in the early afternoon South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol to talk in particular about "civil nuclear" but also "cooperation in the sectors of the future", according to the Elysee.

He is then due to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, while France and Italy are experiencing a series of crises around the sensitive issue of immigration.

Both Yoon and Meloni will attend the AGM of the Bureau International des Expositions, whose 179 member states, after receiving an audit of the three projects on Tuesday, will vote in November by secret ballot to determine the winner, according to the BIE.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives in front of the Bureau International des Expositions in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Hauts-de-Seine, June 20, 2023 © JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

Each candidate country around a "vision", according to the BIE.

Busan wants to host the event from May 1 to October 31, 2030 under the theme "Transforming our world, sailing towards a better future", while Rome's bid, on the same dates, will focus on "People and territories: Regeneration, inclusion and innovation".

Riyadh would host from October 1, 2030 to March 31, 2031 and the event would focus on: "The Era of Change: Together for a Forward-Looking Future".

World Expos are held every five years and last a maximum of six months. They allow the chosen country to "build extraordinary pavilions and sustainably transform the host city," according to the BIE.

For example, the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1889.

The latest, in Dubai, recorded 24 million visitors. The 2025 event will take place in Osaka, Japan.

© 2023 AFP