The Spanish pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai has been scenario to the presentation of the candidature of Málaga to host Expo 2027, an international exhibition with the name “The urban ura: towards the sustainable city”.

The Town Council, the Spanish Pavilion in Dubai, Acción Cultural Española [a public agency promoting Spanish culture and heritage], the Andalucían Regional Council and Málaga County Council have worked jointly to organise this event that was held within the framework of a working schedule for Expo 2020 Dubai with a diplomatic, operative and technical profile (with the purpose of providing the operative details of the Expo).

This is the second time Málaga Expo 2027 travels to Dubai. The previous time was on 12 February, for an event organised by the Andalucían Regional Council on Andalucía Week. On this occasion, the event has been specifically designed to present the city’s candidature.

THE PRESENTATION

The event began at 7.00 pm (4.00 pm Spanish time) with a welcome drink. Following was the presentation of Málaga’s candidature which began with the speeches of the Spain's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates; the pavilion’s Commissioner, Carmen Bueno; the President of the Málaga County Council, Francisco Salado; Málaga’s Mayor, Francisco de la Torre, and the President of the Andalusian regional government, Juan Manuel Moreno. All the speeches were given in English and they were followed by the projection of a new promotional video of Expo 2027 Málaga.

The video was followed by a music recital by Málaga’s baritone Carlos Álvarez, soprano Berna Perles and pianist Rubén Fernández Aguirre, sponsored by Unicaja Banco. The evening was crowned by a cocktail offering typical products from the Málaga province and the Spanish gastronomies. Additionally, various videos were showed in relation to Expo 2027’s themes, the province and city of Málaga.

The attendees received various promotional gifts relating to the city’s candidature which were sponsored by Cosentino Global. These items were made of environmentally-friendly materials (a bag, a wireless charger for mobile devices, a wild flower seed, a cutlery set made of bamboo and a pen drive with information about the city and its candidature) and they were all related to the themes of Expo 2027. Additionally, Sabor a Málaga-branded bottles of olive oil were distributed by the Málaga County Council.

The Commissioners of the other countries that were represented at Expo 2020 Dubai were invited to the event, together with members of the diplomatic bodies and international agencies. The event was broadcast live on the official Twitter and Facebook accounts of Expo 2027 Málaga (Málaga 2027).

THE CANDIDATURE

Málaga’s candidature to host an international exhibition in 2027 was represented by the Government of Spain on 26 January before the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). The Town Council began to work on this initiative in 2019.

The information on the theme, location, post-exhibition practices and the latest news on the project are available to the public on https://expo2027.malaga.eu/es/ and in the project’s social media official profiles that are accessible through the above web page.