Dubai beat Russia’s Ekaterinberg, Brazil’s Sao Paulo and Turkey’s Izmir to host the ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ themed exhibition that will kick off in late 2020.

Burj Kalifa is one of the attactions that will be promoted

The event will run from October 2020 – April 2021 and is predicted to attract more than 25 million visitors, 17.5 million of whom will be from outside of the UAE.

The announcement was made in Paris during the 154th Bureau International des Exhibitions (BIE) General Assembly.

It is widely believed that Dubai’s aggressive tourism push is due to the fact that the countries natural mineral resources will eventually run out so the emirate needs to future-proof its economy.

Director-general of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing and ceo of Dubai World Trade Centre His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri said, “Hosting Expo 220 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one that will be maximised to accelerate the growth of the tourism industry in Dubai, the UAE and the wider GCC region.”

According to UAE officials, 40 per cent of the estimated 227,000 new jobs expected to be created as a result of Expo will be in the tourism and travel sectors.

The site chosen for the event, is spread over 438 hectares and located between the international airports of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates.

The World Expo, a modern-day successor to the Great Exhibitions of the 19th and early 20th centuries, showcases technology, architecture and culture.

Shanghai was the last host city and Milan is next in line in 2015.