Expectant Busan braces for historic World Expo bid decision [EXPO BID 2030]

Industry

Published: 26 Nov. 2023, 17:30 Updated: 27 Nov. 2023, 14:29

Expectant Busan braces for historic World Expo bid decision [EXPO BID 2030]

A hot air balloon to promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo floats at Haeundae beach in Busan on Saturday. [YONHAP]

BUSAN — As streetlights along the Haeundae coastline lit up on Saturday evening, a massive hot air balloon began to swell in the middle of the sandy beach.

A slogan, “World Expo 2030, Busan, Korea,” soon became visible as the balloon inflated, with another message on the other side saying “Imagine your Korea.”

Jeong Hee-ja, a Busan citizen living in the Jin District with her family, stood near the waterfront with her fingers crossed as the hot air balloon buoyed amid the darkened night sky.

“I really do wish Busan would win the World Expo bid,” Jeong said with sincerity in her tone. “My husband and son also have their hopes up.”

She expects that the World Expo, if Busan is to win the bid to host the event, will bring in more jobs and rejuvenate the local economy.

A wish card saying ″I hope Busan will host the 2030 World Expo″ written by a resident in Dong District, where the proposed venue for the 2030 World Expo is located, is installed in southeastern Busan on Friday. [SHIN HA-NEE]

Manju Jeganathan, who has been visiting Busan on a 12-day trip to meet her friend working in Korea, could not help but notice signs and slogans hyping up the 2030 Busan Expo everywhere across the city.

“It’s an awesome city — I never expected it, [but] it’s like heaven,” said Jeganathan, adding that “[the Expo] will be a very good opportunity [for visitors] to explore Busan.”

With only a handful of days left until the host city of the 2030 World Expo is decided, Busan is revving up last-minute efforts to rally support for its bid to bring the mega-event to home turf.

A World Expo-themed photo zone set up at the crowded Haeundae beach is one of them.

A photo zone is set up to promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo at Haeundae beach in Busan on Saturday. [SHIN HA-NEE]

Pedestrians visiting the famous beach were welcomed by a mock-up Eiffel Tower, one of the most prominent symbols of the World Expo, and a giant Boogi, Busan’s seagull mascot. A message board standing alongside an inflatable Boogi was filled with warm support for the city’s Expo bid left by Busan citizens and tourists.

The outdoor event will run for four days through Tuesday, Nov. 28, a day before the final decision for the hosting city of the 2030 World Expo is made. The winner will be decided through a secret ballot by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) member countries during the organization’s general assembly in Paris.

Through the final weekend leading up to the big day, the whole city of Busan was adorned with banners and posters supporting the expo bid. Digital signage of Busan Bank near the city's downtown displayed a D-day countdown for the BIE assembly.

Dong District, located on the southeastern coastline of Busan, is perhaps where people’s hopes are the highest as the North Port, which is the proposed venue of the World Expo, is located there.

A lighting ceremony for winter season street decorations is held in Dong District, Busan, with its mayor Kim Jin-hong on stage, ahead of the final decision for the hosting city of the 2030 World Expo to be decided. Dong District residents who attended the event wave flags supporting Busan's bid. [SHIN HA-NEE]

“Dong District is where Busan’s whole industry bloomed, but the regional economy here has been shrinking recently,” Dong District Mayor Kim Jin-hong told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Friday, as the Dong District office hosted a lighting ceremony that day for street decorations installed at the region’s downtown for the winter season.

The annual event is aimed to breathe life back into the region’s economy, and also boost morale among the town’s residents ahead of Tuesday’s final decision for the World Expo venue.

“With four days to go before the decision is made, we want to bring together the aspirations of our citizens to strengthen our resolve to win the 2030 World Expo,” said the mayor.

Jeong Jae-yong, who spearheaded the Dong District residents’ task force to support the World Expo bid, stressed that “Busan has a great environment and location compared to Riyadh and Rome.”

The team was first set up last year, and since then has tirelessly run events and campaigns to rally support for Busan and the North Port, including performances and welcome events arranged to greet the BIE delegation visiting Busan in April.

On Monday, there will be a rally to drum up support for the Busan Expo in front of the Busan Station as well, according to Jeong.

Boogi, Busan's mascot seagull, holds up a D-day countdown at Busan Station on Friday, four days before the hosting city of the 2030 World Expo will be decided. [SHIN HA-NEE]

“I think Busan has everything — a river, sea, and a mountain all converging in one city, along with strong aspiration from its citizens,” said Jeong.

Lee Sang-gil, who runs a gym in Dong District, was wearing a scarf promoting the Busan Expo bid during the lighting ceremony on Friday.

“The World Expo is among the three biggest events along with the World Cup and the Olympics,” Lee said. “[As the BIE member] countries will see how enthusiastic Korean people are for hosting the event, we will do our best to show how ready we are.”

“On Nov. 21, we held a departure ceremony for the successful bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo... during which some 1,000 people gathered to show their support with the city’s enthusiasm rising higher than ever,” said Busan Metropolitan City official Dong Se-jin, who has been leading promotional campaigns for the Expo bid.

“Together with many people who supported Busan’s bid, we will do our best until the end,” Dong said.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]