From today until Saturday 22, the inspection visit of the BIE, Bureau International des Expositions, will take place in Rome, which is one of the most important moments in the path towards the final vote of Expo 2030, scheduled for November 23rd with the vote of 171 countries. The delegation arriving in Rome is composed of four delegates from Angola, Kazakhstan, Peru, and Sweden, and accompanied by the Secretary-General of the BIE, Dimitri Kerkentzes.
During the week, the Delegates, attended by the President of the Committee, Giampiero Massolo, and the General Director, Giuseppe Scognamiglio, will meet with the main Italian institutions, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the President of the Council, Giorgia Meloni, the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, and the President of the Region Francesco Rocca with the main objective of confirming the support of all the highest institutional levels for the candidacy.
The objective of the inspection visit is to verify the contents and feasibility of the bid file presented by the Promoting Committee on September 7th last year, in Paris. The examination will be divided into nine working sessions in which the 21 chapters of the dossier will be managed and discussed, in the presence of the consultants who have drafted them under the guidance of the Technical Director Matteo Gatto and the Director of Strategy, Planning, and Communication Livio Vanghetti. The ultimate goal is to provide the delegates with a concrete verification of the project’s feasibility.
All representatives of the promoter partners will be involved in the technical meetings to demonstrate inclusive involvement in the drafting of the dossier by Italian and foreign civil society, including representatives of companies, NGOs, sports, and culture.
One of the highlights of the inspection visit will be the delegates’ visit, on Wednesday afternoon, with the architect Carlo Ratti to Tor Vergata, the site chosen for the realization of Expo 2030 Rome. Another important moment of the week will be the evening of April 21st, where a spectacular cameo designed specifically for the Delegates and for the promotion of Expo and Italy in the world, entitled “Humanlands,” will be held at the Colosseum.
The communication campaign for Expo 2030 Rome: HUMANLANDS
A “giant” girl plants a tree in the history of Rome at the Colosseum, a painter, always in a giant version, repaints the Gazometro, and three boys sit on the Aqueduct Park, all accompanied by the claim HUMANLANDS.
This is the campaign that the Promoting Committee Expo 2030 Rome launched on the occasion of the inspection visit of the BIE, Bureau International des Espositions, which will be held in the Capital from tomorrow to April 22nd. The central element is a surreal disproportion between the represented people and the city’s buildings to describe the centrality of the human elements, imagining it capable of taking care of both its habitat and the landscape, interacting positively with it.
In particular, the Committee chose to communicate through the various campaign subjects the different thematic areas that Expo represents. The girl at the “Colosseum” represents the area of territorial regeneration and environmental policies. The three boys on the Aqueduct express innovation and new solutions for accessibility and mobility. The girl at the “Gazometro” represents the theme of inclusion and cultural and artistic expression.
“HUMANLANDS is a neologism coined specifically to support the candidacy of Expo 2030 Rome and its theme “People and Territories”. Expo will be an opportunity to start imagining new territories tailored to humans and new relationships between us and our habitats.
The campaign, realized by the Superhumans agency, will cross Rome in the coming weeks, with other communication materials in commercial establishments and public contact locations, thanks to the commitment of the Rome Expo 2030 Foundation, in order to raise awareness among all citizens on the theme of the candidacy of their city.
DOSSIER SHEET
The 618-page volume contains the detailed project to compete together with three other cities (Busan, Odessa, and Riyadh) and was drafted by a team of international professors and professionals such as Ian Philion, Richard Burdett, Carlo Ratti, Italo Rota, Michele Costabile, Christian Iaione, Livio Vanghetti, and Alessandro Mancini, just to name a few, who collaborated with Roman universities and local and national institutions, under the guidance of architect Matteo Gatto, already Chief Architect and Director of the Visitor Experience of Expo Milano 2015.
The volume is divided into 21 chapters, 14 mandatory and 7 additional, and can be summarized in five fundamental parts (BIE rules do not allow the dossier to be fully disclosed yet).
The five parts of the Expo Roma 2030 Dossier are:
1. The extended commitment of the institutions to host the Expo and the support of civil society;
2. The development of the chosen theme for the Exhibition: “People and Territories: Regeneration, Inclusion, and Innovation,” delving into its universal value and its centrality in the contemporary debate;
3. A third section is dedicated to the city of Rome and its region, an ideal place for Expo 2030, for its unique historical and cultural significance, its position as a crossroads between three continents, and for being a crucial hub of multilateralism and international cooperation: home to 337 NGOs and 420 embassies that make it the world capital of solidarity and diplomacy. This section illustrates the reception capacity and the projects that will be implemented to host participants and visitors.
4. A fourth section represents the heart of the dossier, namely the physical project that extends throughout the city to the exhibition site of Tor Vergata, illustrating the thematic pavilions and the participation methods provided for countries, a project that will unfold throughout the city in a constant dialogue between the Expo and its territory. This section details the economic and financial feasibility plan for the entire event.
5. The last part of the volume is related to the crucial post-Expo passage and all the security and organizational aspects that the Capital can and must introduce in view of the Expo.
The world’s largest urban solar park.
As described in the master plan of Expo Roma 2030 developed by the design and innovation studio CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati together with architect Italo Rota and urbanist Richard Burdett for the Capital’s candidacy, the world’s largest urban solar park will be built.
The park, in fact, will cover an area of 150,000 square meters and have a peak production capacity of 36 Mega Watts, making it the largest urban solar park accessible to the public. It will be composed of hundreds of unique “energy trees” that open and close their panels during the day, collecting energy and offering visitors plenty of shade. From above, this infrastructure gives the entire Expo site a characteristic mosaic appearance. This complex energy network is complemented by the “Eco-system 0.0” pavilion, the tallest building at the Expo, which provides cooling through evaporation.
The master plan divides the Expo Roma 2030 site into three main areas: the City, the Boulevard, and the Park, in a west-to-east layout between the artificial and natural worlds. The layout is characterized by a gradual transition from urban to natural as one move from west to east. The West City serves as the Expo Village, and after the event, it will become an extension of the University of Tor Vergata’s campus. The Boulevard, the central pedestrian axis, is a path through all national pavilions. Finally, the park to the east is covered by lush vegetation and accentuated by thematic pavilions, including “Pale Blue Dot,” dedicated to spreading knowledge about the natural world.
Expo Roma 2030’s commitment to revitalizing the neighbourhood is exemplified by the redevelopment of Le Vele, an imposing sports complex designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The structure will become one of the flagship pavilions of Expo Roma 2030, hosting public events and showcasing the transformation of Tor Vergata. Next to Le Vele, the main entrance to the exhibition site serves as the main access point with a series of new transportation and mobility links. Among these, a long green corridor connects Expo 2030 Roma to the adjacent archaeological sites of the Appian Way and other historic buildings and monuments in Rome.
EXPO ROMA 2030 BY THE NUMBERS
50.6 billion
The overall value of the generated economic impact
18.2 billion
The short-term indirect economic effect
10 billion
The direct economic effect (public and private investments and participants)
30 million
Estimated attendance
11,000
The new companies that will be generated in Rome
300,000
The new jobs created
BIE FACT SHEET
The BIE is the Intergovernmental Organization responsible for overseeing and regulating all international exhibitions that last more than three weeks and are of a non-commercial nature (“Expos”). To date, there are four types of Expos: World Expos, Specialized Expos, Horticultural Expos, and the Triennial of Milan. The mission of the BIE is to ensure the quality and success of these global events, specifically by: • Choosing the countries that will host future Expos; • Providing candidate and host countries with support in event management, national branding, and public diplomacy; • Regulating the organization of the event and ensuring that the host country and all participants comply with the BIE Convention and Expo rules.
From the 31 countries that created the BIE in 1928, the Organization has grown to 171 Member States, as a result of the success and appeal of Expos. BIE Member States take part in all BIE decisions and work to continuously improve the quality of Expos.
The BIE General Assembly is the decision-making body and representative entity of the organization. Each BIE Member State has one vote, and deliberations are valid only when two-thirds of the eligible voting countries are present.
The General Assembly is chaired by the President of the General Assembly, who is elected by secret vote for a two-year term from among the delegates of the Member States. The President is eligible for re-election for an additional two-year term, without interruption. The current President of the General Assembly is Jai-chul Choi (Republic of Korea).
EXPO TRIVIA
The last Expo was in Dubai, and the next one will be held in Osaka, Japan, in 2025. The first Expo was in 1851 in London. Milan is the only Italian city to have hosted Expos in 1906 and 2015.
