Society 363 / 2013

kasachstan
expo 2017
In 2017 Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan,
will host the next EXPO
with the theme “Energy for the Future".
This exhibition will showcase
humankind’s best achievements in
green energy development. According
to the International Energy Agency
(IEA), the world will face two simultaneous
global threats in the future: a shortage
of energy resources and environmental
disasters. Kazakhstan, which gained its
independence from the Soviet Uni on in
December 1991, had adopted this theme
to its bid for the right to host EXPO 2017.
•
Astana triumphs over Liege
The main EXPO 2017 contender for
Astana was the Belgian city of Liege (with
the theme “Bringing People Together”),
which has experience in hosting similar
exhibitions in the past. Representatives
of 161 Member States of the International
Exhibitions Bureau (IEB) voted by secret
ballot for the 2017 Host City at their 152.
General Assembly in Paris, where Astana
was awarded an overwhelming number of
103 votes in support of its bid (44 members
voted “against”).
A large-scale exhibition such as the
EXPO 2017 has never previously been held
either in Central Asia, or in any of the
Commonwealth of Indepen dent States.
Astana’s bid was bolstered by the fact that
it has recently hosted two major international
events; firstly, on 1-2 December 2010,
the Summit of Heads of State and Governments
of OSCE Participating States – the
first such high-level meeting of the Organization’s
56 Participating States to take
place 11 years after the Istanbul Summit.
The second event, held two months later,
was the VII Asian Winter Games, which took
place in a Central Asian coun try for the first
time in history. From 31 January to 6 February
2011, Astana and Kazakhstan’s financial
centre Al maty played host to competitions
among athletes from 26 countries.
Even so, these two events pale in comparison
to hosting an EXPO if only because
conservative estimates predict that in 2017
Kazakhstan will be visited by about 5 million
people from 100 countries and about
a dozen international organizations. This
influx of EXPO 2017 visitors will prove to
be a serious test for Astana’s infrastructure
as, in compari son, the official population
of Kazakhstan’s young capital stands at
758,000 people. The Presidium of the IEB
took this fact into account to ensure that
preparatory work for the exhibition will
be held under scrutiny and with the direct
assistance of the Kazakhstan Government.
Skyline of Astana, the capital of
Kazakhstan
EXPO 2017
in Astana
Global energy shortages have obligated
world powers to seek out new alternative
methods of energy production. While the
Olympic Games separate leading athletes
from the rest of the competition, the International
Specialized Exhibition EXPO
acts as the venue for introducing the world
to new technologies and innovations.
Text: SOCIETY
94 | Society 1_2013