What the 2020 Expo means for Dubai

Last week the 167 members of the Bureau International des Expositions voted in Paris for Dubai to host the 2020 World Expo. Dubai has been building up to the vote last Wednesday with a whirlwind of marketing activity. The World Expo matches up to, but isn't as well known as, the Olympics and the Football World Cup. Being based in Dubai it is hard not to get caught up in the excitement and we are looking forward to the build up to the event, the developments and the inevitable boost in tourism. This blog covers what the Expo actually involves and what it means for Dubai.

What is the World Expo?

The World Expo in Dubai will be a 6-month exhibition of trade, innovation and products from all around the world. The Expo is to be held on the edge of Dubai in a newly built, 438-hectare site and will be a chance for the United Arab Emirates to show off.

The Impact

The finer details of the Expo are not important at this stage. What is important for the Emirates is the boost that this event will have on the economy and on tourism. Here are some early stats on the event:

The Government of the UAE is rumoured to have a budget of $7 billion which will be spent on infrastructure.

Analyst expect a spike in property sales which will ultimately help the UAE after the crash back in 2008. Property prices are already on the way up and this event will stimulate a further surge.

277,000 jobs will be created in Dubai just for the Expo. Dubai currently has a workforce of 1.3 million, so the new employment will make up 20% of the current workforce.

Event organisers have made an optimist suggestion for tourism predicting 25 million will descend on the city. London hosts the event this year, however, and only expects 16 million visitors.

What it means to Prototype?

As a company for web design in Dubai, we can't help but think about all the possible projects this event will need. We also can't help but wonder where technology will be in 2020. Beyond specialized apps for the event, and responsive web design, what will we be creating to support this huge event?

2020 Technology predictions

Some of the technology predictions for 2020 are before their time, but some are quite feasible and could be at the Expo:

Self-driven cars or even a flying car

Brain implants

Paper-thin OLED surfaces

Computers that have the raw processing power of the human brain

Universal language translation will be commonplace on every device

What are your predictions for the Expo? Are you excited about the event? Did you know what it was before Dubai was awarded the event? Let us know in the comments below.