Saudi Arabia selected to host World Expo in 2030

Riyadh has picked up the hosting for the Expo 2030 world's fair, marking another triumph for a Gulf country following Qatar's successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup last year.

Competing against Busan of South Korea and Rome of Italy, Riyadh comes up as the chosen host for this once-every-five-year event that attracts millions of visitors and billions of dollars in investment. The voting results, released by the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), declared that Riyadh got 119 votes, while Busan and Rome got 29 and 17 votes respectively. Saudi Arabia needed to receive two-thirds of the votes to get victory in the initial round.

Saudi Arabia, the only declared candidate, is on track to host the 2034 World Cup and is also making preparations for an Olympics bid. In order to hold the hosting, Riyadh hold the endorsement of renowned footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently plays for Al Nassr club in the capital. The proposed dates for the World Cup event are from October 2030 to March 2031.

This victory is a significant achievement for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to reduce the country's dependence on oil. As part of their efforts, Saudi Arabia's ministers actively engaged with counterparts from around the world to understand their expectations and deliver accordingly, in order to gain trust and support for their bid.

However, critics argue that the crown prince's motivation for hosting the event is to enhance the country's image following the controversy surrounding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which involved a team of Saudi agents.