In this Wednesday Nov. 13, 2013 photo, vehicles pass by a tower with a sign that reads, “Keep Calm, No Bubble,” at the Marina district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The logo for Dubai’s bid to host the Expo 2020 reflects a push by the city’s leaders to avert another financial crisis like the one that brought the city to its knees in 2008. Dubai saw property values slashed by more than half and the city’s government needed a $ 10 billion bailout from oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi in 2009. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
In this Wednesday Nov. 13, 2013 photo, vehicles pass by a tower with a sign that reads, “Keep Calm, No Bubble,” at the Marina district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The logo for Dubai’s bid to host the Expo 2020 reflects a push by the city’s leaders to avert another financial crisis like the one that brought the city to its knees in 2008. Dubai saw property values slashed by more than half and the city’s government needed a $ 10 billion bailout from oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi in 2009. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
FILE – In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 file photo ice covered trees in the city of Yekaterinburg, 1500 km (900 miles) east of Moscow, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006. Russia has been treating its bid to hold the expo as a state priority not unlike its bids to host the Winter Games and the World Cup. Officials expect that hosting the expo in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg would cost Russia $ 4 billion, the local governor said last week, adding that half of it would come from the budget and the remaining half from private investors. The organizers are planning to build 103 pavilions for the expo and accommodation for exhibition participants, which will later be converted into a residential area. Russian officials said the expo will help to attract investors and their money to the Yekaterinburg area. (AP Photo/Alexei Vladykin/UralPress Photo, file)
FILE – 2013 file photo shows the Kordon district in Izmir, Turkey. The Aegean coastal city, formerly known as Smyrna, will compete against Dubai, Yekaterinburg and Sao Paulo to host the 2020 World Fair. Izmir, Turkey’s third largest city, is bidding for the global event around the theme “New Routes for a Better World: Health for All,†highlighting global health and environmental issues.(AP Photo/File)
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PARIS (AP) — Fireworks erupted in Dubai after the tiny Gulf emirate won the right to host the 2020 World Expo, becoming the first Middle Eastern city to organize the event in its more than 150-year history.
Dubai bested competing bids from Izmir, Turkey; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Yekaterinburg, Russia, after three rounds of voting by delegates of the 168-nation Bureau International des Expositions in Paris.
In line with its reputation of over-the-top glitz and glamor, Dubai lit the world’s tallest tower with glimmering lights. The skies around the Burj Khalifa, which towers at 2,717 feet, erupted with fireworks.
The official Twitter account for Dubai’s world expo bid wrote after the announcement that the win “will help unlock the vast potential of this region” and that it is the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East.
“The UAE is proud to have been selected to host #Expo2020 in #Dubai under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’,” said Dubai authorities on their official expo bid account.
Dubai authorities expect Expo 2020 will generate $ 23 billion between 2015 and 2021, and estimate it will cost $ 8.4 billion to organize.
The announcement comes just days before the Dec. 2 U.A.E. national day, which celebrates the young nation’s 42 years of unity and independence from the British Protectorate.
While the World’s Fair no longer holds the popularity of other global events like the Olympics or World Cup, it remains a chance for millions from around the world to discuss and see the business of the future.
Delegates voted behind closed doors over three rounds to choose the winner. Sao Paulo and Izmir were eliminated in the first two rounds, leaving Yekaterinburg and Dubai to face off in the decisive third round.
Last year Yeosu, South Korea, hosted the 2012 world expo. The next one is scheduled to take place in Milan in 2015.
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Associated Press reporter Aya Batrawy in Dubai contributed to this report.
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Follow Greg Keller on Twiter: http://twitter.com/Greg_Keller
Dubai chosen to host 2020 world expo
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