Guangdong has Expo in its sights
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A feasibility study is under way by trade promotion authorities in South China's Guangdong province with the hope of hosting the World Expo after 2020, officials have said.
Although plans remain in an internal "discussion" and bids are in the preparatory phase, Guangdong officials have made contact with Expo representatives, Chen Wenjie, director of the Guangdong Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, told Guangzhou Daily on Sunday
Given that it took Shanghai officials 11 years between their first bidding procedures and the opening of Expo 2010 Shanghai, Guangdong officials clearly have a long way to go towards realizing their dreams of holding the World Expo, Chen said.
But his hopes are high. "All the cities in the prosperous Pearl River Delta can be candidates," Chen said.
Meanwhile, Chen told reporters in Shanghai last week that Guangdong provincial officials had also expressed their interest to Jean-Pierre Lafon, president of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), in submitting a formal application.
"Lafon said he was happy to learn Guangdong would bid for the World Expo, and he paid a special visit to the Guangdong hall," according to Chen.
"Guangdong is a vibrant and fast-developing province. It is fully capable of hosting the event," Lafon said.
Chen said that, in the event of Guangdong's selection, the entire Guangdong hall at the Expo could be brought back as a tourist attraction to the province after this expo ends.
Chen is now in Shanghai to promote the province's cultural and economic development during the inauguration of Guangdong week with the aim of winning support from home and abroad for the province's bid for the World Expo.
Guangdong Week, themed "Thrilling Asia, Green Guangdong" at the Expo took place from July 28 to Aug 1.
Guangdong, one of the country's economic powerhouses, is set to host the 16th Asian Games in its provincial capital Guangzhou in November.
Insiders, however, have indicated Guangdong might have to wait until 2025, since a host country usually has to wait 15 years for another chance to host the Expo.
Were Guangdong to win after 2020, this would mark the fourth time in a row that the Expo has been held in Asia. The Japanese city of Achi hosted the Expo in 2005, while Seoul, the Republic of Korea, won the bid to host the 2015 World Expo.
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