Latest News: Dubai Wins 2020 Expo Race - What Could it Mean for You?

On the 27th November 2013, the host location for the World Expo 2020 was announced and the winner was…..DUBAI!
We mentioned in one of our blog articles back in June 2013 that Dubai was a front runner for the award and the recruitment consultants at Maxim have been watching closely developments and preparation for the announcement of this World Expo 2020 award.

What is the Expo?
The World Expos is an event which brings together the global community to celebrate cultural diversity, and to strengthen and share connections and technological advancements. This event takes place every five years and is designed to encourage visitors to explore hundreds of participating international organisations and businesses with their events and exhibitions.

These days, the World Expo has taken a more political view by highlighting issues such as sustainability, development and the global economy.  By sharing innovation in these matters, the Expo attracts millions of visitors and that will be no exception for the next Host city of Milan in 2015.

The Expo Award Process
The shortlist was narrowed down to Izmir in Turkey, Ekaterinburg in Russia, Sao Paulo in Brazil and lastly Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. In round one of the voting Dubai won the first stage with 47% of the votes and Sao Paul lost their place in the shortlist.  In round two Dubai won again with 52% of the votes and Izmir lost their place as a contender.  In round three, Dubai was awarded the right to host Expo 2020. 

Expo 2020 Awarded to Dubai: So What?
The pace of construction industry in the Middle East has been slower since 2009 but with the announcement of this award of the Expo 2020 to Dubai, the construction of the massive Expo facilities may well be seen as the turning point where the boom years fully returned.

In the Dubai tagline “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, the prestigious event is the first to be held in MENASA region (Middle East, South Asia and North Africa) and another first following the announcement of the award of the World Cup to Qatar in 2020.

So What Could This Mean for You?
If you are a construction professional, a Design Manager, Project/Construction Manager, Engineer,  Claims Consultant or Quantity Surveyor, excellent career opportunities are sure to present themselves in Dubai in the immediate future –both directly relating to Expo 2020 but also from the increase in confidence and general construction activity that this will further encourage.

A variety of other major new large construction projects in the UAE are scheduled to start shortly and run for many years, which will create excellent career opportunities for both construction professionals already locally based, and those who have previously worked in the Middle East. There are even limited opportunities to very strong candidates without any Middle East or overseas experience.

Please get in touch via the Maxim website if you would like to discuss working on the Expos, in Dubai or working overseas more generally.

Natasha Bailey
Maxim Recruitment
Middle East Region