8 June 2015

Gentlefolk,

This post discusses the relevance of World Expos.  All money is US dollars.

2015 Milan World Expo

The 2015 World Expo opened in Milan, Italy on 1 May 2015 and will run until 31 October 2015.

I was delighted to learn that Australia is NOT a participant in the Milan Expo. I congratulate the Abbott Government for making a hard, but necessary, decision.

My impression is that the costs far out-weigh the benefits.  I read that Australia’s participation in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo cost a staggering $65 million. Allegedly the final DFAT report described a great success: it attracted millions of visitors (as did every other prominent Pavilion) and generated media coverage worth an estimated $10 million. Only a government department could define success in that way!

Some institutions, like World Expos and Commonwealth Games, have reached their use-by dates.  They are no longer relevant, and it’s time to move on.

What do World Expos achieve? 

What is the point of a World Expo?  What does it achieve?  I can see relevance 100 years ago, but how relevant is it in today’s globalised and digital world, where information is just a click away?

The first World Expo was held in London in 1851.  It was open four-and-a-half months and attracted 6 million visitors – almost 30% of the population of Great Britain attended!  Britain was the world’s leading industrial power, and ruled a vast Empire.  The Expo was a celebration of “Best of British” with over 13,000 products on display.

Subsequent World Expos (called ‘World Fairs’ in the USA) included: Philadelphia 1876; Paris 1889 and 1900; Chicago 1933; Brussels 1958; Osaka 1970; Seville 1992; and Hanover 2000 to list a few.

I must admit that I didn’t even know a World Expo was held in 2000.  Everyone in Australia was focused on the Sydney Olympics that year.  Perhaps Hanover, too, wishes it hadn’t taken place – few people attended and it recorded losses totalling $600 million.  Ouch!

Here are three good Trivial Pursuit questions: 

• Where and when was the last World Expo held in the USA?  Answer: New Orleans, 1984. 
• Has Australia ever hosted a World Expo?  Answer: Melbourne, 1880.  (Brisbane in 1988 was a smaller ‘International Exposition’, not a World Expo). 
• Where and when were the two most recent World Expos?  Answer: Aichi 2005 and Shanghai 2010. 

Where the hell is Aichi? 

Can you see why I am questioning the worth of World Expos?

Each Expo has a fancy-sounding theme; in Shanghai it was “Better City, Better Life” while in Milan it is “Feeding the planet; energy for life”. 

Once upon a time the Expos featured the latest and best inventions from around the world but these days most National Pavilions just feature films and videos extolling the virtues of their country. Many of the national organising bodies are tourism-related and their main interest is to generate in-bound tourism. 

Why don’t they stop the charade and just call it the World Tourism Expo? 

But how many countries would then spend millions of dollars on what is basically a tourism promotion?  And one that runs for a mind-numbing 6 months.  I worked on many international trade promotions – they normally last no more than a very intense 3 or 4 days -   I can’t imagine what it would be like to work on a promotion which went 6 months!

This seems to be a classical case of a self-perpetuating bureaucracy. 

BIE

The Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) regulates World Expos, a bit like the IOC runs the Olympics.  I had a look at the BIE website (www.bie-paris.org).  The organisation is based in Paris; it was established by the 1928 ‘Convention of Paris’ at which countries agreed to regulate international fairs and expositions. 

I was hoping to find Annual Reports on the BIE website to get more details about the organisation, such as number of employees, and income & expenditure.  But none are available – why publish an Annual Report if you are not accountable to anyone, right?  

The website is big on generalities and small on specifics. The BIE has 168 member countries, and its revenue comes from two sources - member contributions and a cut of ‘gate takings’ at Expos. The BIE has 4 Supervisory Committees:  Executive; Rules; Admin & Budget; and Information & Communications. 

The following countries comprise the current Admin & Budget Committee: Antigua (Presidency); Argentina; China; Finland; Philippines; Russia; Saudi Arabia; Thailand; Togo. 

Not sure I’d trust my money with that lot, would you?

The BIE is the world’s best-kept secret – in my next life I want to be the Secretary General of the BIE!

The USA isn’t a member of the BIE.  In 1999 Congress prohibited the use of public funds for the BIE and Expos.  In 2001, after two years of arrears, the BIE reluctantly took the USA off their membership list. 

The BIE probably feared that other countries would follow the US lead, but that didn’t happen.  Ah, public servants the world over love their business trips to Paris.  Hard to wean them off that delicious teat!

Except for Canada.  In October 2012 the Canadian Government resigned from the BIE citing budgetary pressures at home.  The annual membership fee looks small, but with all the add-ons and public servants, Canada said it was costing about $9 million a year.  For what?

I hope Australia takes the next logical step and also resigns from the BIE.

Despite having resigned from the BIE the USA still participates in Expos, but on a strictly commercial basis. The website of the US Pavilion at Milan shows the organiser as “Friends of the US Pavilion” comprising the James Beard Foundation, the International Culinary Center, and AmCham Italy.  48 ‘partners’ are listed and several official suppliers. The Pavilion is under the auspices of the US Department of State (wonder what that means?).

The Milan Expo is much smaller than the Shanghai Expo was in 2010: Milan covers an area of just over one square km (about 20% of the area in Shanghai) with 145 countries represented.  The organisers hope to attract 20 million visitors over the 6 months (a one-day adult ticket costs 39 euro). 

Australia and Canada are two major countries NOT participating at Milan.  Is this the first chink in the armour? The next World Expo will be held in Dubai in 2020 – will be interesting to see how many countries participate there.

Personally, I think that an organisation such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) should take over the task of organising Australian participation in future Expos, and they should be done on a commercial basis. 

Here are images of some of the Country Pavilions at the Milan Expo:

The impressive Chinese Pavilion has a theme of sustainable agriculture. It is the second largest pavilion (after Germany).

The UK's Pavilion celebrates the contribution bees make to the environment; the Pavilion invokes images of the inside of a beehive.

The Brazilian Pavilion theme is "Spaces connecting people".

The Austrian Pavilion theme is 'Breath fresh' and incorporates a small forest.

The Vietnam Pavilion theme is "water and lotus", featuring giant bamboo lotus.

The USA Pavilion theme is 'Food from America' and features a vertical garden. Inside, the Pavilion is basically a series of restaurants and snack bars selling American food and beverages.

Architects love the BIE and Expos!

...

That's all for this post.

Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao

www.upc.edu.cn

Monday 8 June 2015.