The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, which is set to win a third term in office in the upcoming elections in June, and leading local officials are fully supporting the city’s bid to have EXPO 2020 in İzmir. Before the Paris-based Bureau of International Exhibitions (BIE) made its decision on the winner of the EXPO 2015 hosting contest, an early wave of joy had hit the residents of İzmir who were waiting for the announcement of the decision in excitement in one of the biggest squares of the city as a rumor had spread that İzmir had won the competition. Everyone was cheering the victory but the joy died after a few minutes as it was confirmed that the official decision had not yet been announced. The people became silent again and then sad 10 minutes later when they learned Milan had won. It seems that neither the AK Party nor the local officials want this disappointment repeated this year.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent the city’s application letter to BIE Secretary-General Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales last week, pledging that his government will mobilize all means to complete the necessary investments in time. İzmir Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu thanked Erdoğan for this support and said that “there will be no obstacle before İzmir” once they have finished their “homework.” “The people of İzmir know what the EXPO spirit means and how the fair can benefit the city. That will be our biggest advantage in the contest for 2020,” he added, speaking to the Anatolia news agency.
İzmir Chamber of Commerce (İZTO) President Ekrem Demirtaş is no less enthusiastic about the city’s EXPO 2020 bid. For him, the benefits of hosting a fair are “10 times more” than hosting the Olympics. “No city has won the contest the first time it applied. We have made a lot of improvements since 2008,” he told Anatolia. According to Demirtaş, İzmir could not win the contest for EXPO 2015 three years ago because local authorities could not do enough in terms of promotional activities. “We should open a representative office in Paris as soon as possible and make full use of Turkey’s effective lobbying power around the world. In 2008, Turkish schools overseas were very helpful. Although we asked for them to contribute to our bid too late, they managed to gain 10 votes for us,” Demirtaş said. Aegean Region Chamber of Industry (EBSO) President Ender Yorgancılar is also of the view that İzmir’s bid to host EXPO 2020 is not a provincial but a national project. He also thinks İzmir is now known by a much a larger community around the world than it was prior to the start of the competition for EXPO 2015 and that this reputation will also help İzmir’s dream come true.
