A light display created using drones is performed after Riyadh won the right to host the 2030 World Expo at king Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh on Tuesday night. AFP

Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was chosen to host the 2030 World Expo following its bid that focused on shaping a prosperous and sustainable future, beating out Rome and the South Korean port city of Busan for an event expected to draw millions of visitors.

Members of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions chose Riyadh with a majority of 119 out of 165 votes during a closed-door meeting in the suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Busan got 29 votes and Rome 17. The result was greeted with cheers by the Saudi delegation.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, welcomed the vote as an "expression of the trust that the international community has in what we have to offer… but also in its alignment with our own vision (for) 2030 and everything that we advocate for, which is a shared pathway to prosperity for all of the countries of the world.” "We are committed to living up to the expectations and delivering an extraordinary expo,” he said.

The Riyadh Expo is set to take place from October 2030 to March 2031 on the theme "The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow," according to the Saudi bid.

Faisal Bin Farhan in his final presentation pledged an "unwavering commitment to collaborate with all nations to deliver an Expo built by the world for the world."

"As we work diligently to grow and transform our economy we believe the kingdom's progress, regional development and the health of the global economy will advance in lockstep," he said.

Hosting the Expo is of immense importance for Saudi Arabia, whose bid was spearheaded by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman as he seeks to secure the world's top events to showcase the kingdom across the globe.

The kingdom is also set to host the 2034 football World Cup after emerging as the only bidder for the event.

The date of 2030 is hugely symbolic for Saudi, coinciding with the key milestone in the Vision 2030 programme of Prince Mohammed to diversify Saudi Arabia economically and culturally.

The most recent World Expo took place in Dubai and the next World Expo is due in 2025 in Osaka, Japan, on the theme "Designing Future Society for Our Lives." Other bids for 2030 came from the Russian capital, Moscow, and the Ukrainian city of Odesa.

Russia withdrew its bid in May 2022, shortly after its invasion of Ukraine, while Odesa did not make the final shortlist of three announced in June.

Agencies