The Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Dimitri S. Kerkentzes, visited Serbia for an official visit that combines both protocolary and technical aspects relating to ongoing preparations for Specialized Expo 2027 Belgrade.
The BIE Secretary General met with the Minister of Finance, Siniša Mali, at the future Expo site, where infrastructure works are already underway. Minister Mali handed the Secretary General an updated version of the Recognition Dossier, the document that presents a detailed plan for the implementation of the Expo. A first version of the Recognition Dossier was submitted to the BIE in February 2024 and has since been reviewed by BIE Member States and the BIE Secretariat.
The dossier, which includes chapters on the scheduled Expo calendar, legislative and financial measures, the Expo site Master Plan, the conditions for international participation and legacy plans, will be submitted for examination by BIE Member States. Its approval by the BIE General Assembly will allow Serbia to invite international participants and begin preparations in earnest.
The Secretary General’s three-day visit also includes meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Ðurić, the Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, Jelena Begović, and National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić. Discussions are centered on the implementation of the Expo project, including the development of the Expo site and associated infrastructure, operational and communications plans, and the development of the theme, “Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All.”
The agenda also includes a visit to an exhibition on the Sava Promenade recounting Serbia’s longstanding participation in Expos, which opened on August 18 to mark the 1,000 day countdown to the opening of the Expo.
The BIE Secretary General indicated: “Serbia has made commendable progress since it was elected host country of Specialized Expo 2027 last year. In the road towards the formal recognition of the Expo, it has shown itself to be very attentive to comments by Member States and willing to work with all countries to make Expo 2027 Belgrade a global symphony where every nation plays its part.”
Serbia was elected as the host of Specialized Expo 2027 by BIE Member States during the 172nd General Assembly of the BIE on June 21, 2023. Organized under the theme “Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All,” Expo 2027 Belgrade is set to welcome 120 countries and 10 international organizations between May 15 and August 15, 2027.
Expos are global events that explore a chosen theme through engaging and immersive discoveries. Among the different categories of Expos, Specialized Expos are designed to respond to a precise challenge facing humanity and may take place in the interval between two World Expos. Specialized Expos are limited in terms of duration – lasting up to three months – and space – with the exhibition area not exceeding 25 hectares (nearly 62 acres). The site is entirely built by the Organizer, Participants being provided with pavilion space.
The most recent Specialized Expo, Expo 2017 Astana, took place in the capital of Kazakhstan under the theme “Future Energy,” and received almost 4 million visits.
