"In solidarity with participating countries, following discussions with the BIE and the Expo 2020 Steering Committee, the Government of the UAE has notified the BIE of its request to change the dates of Expo 2020 Dubai to 1 October 2021 - 31 March 2022", the organization wrote on Twitter.
Le 21 avril, le Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) se réunira pour examiner le report de l’Expo 2020 Dubaï du 1er octobre 2021 au 31 mars 2022. #FranceDubai2020https://t.co/lYcgy1gL3a
— Expo 2020 Dubaï (@CMsocialcontent) April 4, 2020
Dubai was designated as a host of the international exhibition back in 2013. The UAE expected over 20 million people to visit the expo in Dubai this year. As many as 190 countries were expected to showcase their projects at the exhibition. The event was supposed to be held through 10 April 2021.
The BIE, founded in 1931, selects the World Expo hosts exhibitions, draws up conclusions on bids, assesses submitted projects, and analyzes the progress and results of exhibitions.
The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11 March. To date, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world exceeds 1,056,000, 57,200 of which are fatal, according to the World Health Organization.
The Johns Hopkins University data shows that over 1,196,000 people got infected with the novel coronavirus, while more than 64,000 died from the disease.
