Minnesota falls short in bid for 2027 World Expo

By KSTPTV

(KSTP) – Minnesota will have to wait for another opportunity to host the World Expo.

Wednesday morning, a vote was held in Paris, France to choose the location for the 2027 World Expo, in which Minnesota was up against four other locations around the world to host the event.

Ultimately, Belgrade, Serbia won the vote with 81 votes. Malaga, Spain came in second with 70 votes, and Minnesota came in third, beating out Phuket in Thailand and San Carlos de Bariloche in Argentina.

The Expo’s theme is “Healthy People, Healthy Planet” and will focus on health and wellness. The Expo was expected to attract an estimated 14 million visitors and have an impact of $2.5 billion on Minnesota’s economy. This would have been the first time that the United States hosted an expo since 1984.

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“Our ‘Healthy People, Healthy Planet’ event would have been the first-ever Expo focused on global health and wellness. Through our meetings and presentations with the international community, we were able to focus attention on the importance of innovative and united approaches to address some of the planet’s greatest challenges. This process also created strong national and global relationships that will benefit Bloomington, the Greater MSP region, Minnesota and the United States for years to come,” said John Stanoch, the president and CEO of Minnesota USA Expo 2027.

Jonathan Weinhagen, the Minneapolis Regional Chamber President and CEO, also issued a statement Wednesday regarding Minnesota’s loss.

“Although we are disappointed that Minnesota was not selected for the 2027 World Expo, our region and state were extremely well received on the world stage and this effort not only served to strengthen our region’s strong public-private partnerships.

We were proud to carry the official bid on behalf of the United States and we greatly appreciate the support from the White House, the U.S. Department of State, the governor’s Office and the Expo’s many corporate and business supporters. Our work together showed that Minnesota is worthy of the global spotlight. We made global connections that will continue to highlight our state as a desirable destination for tourism, business, and investment.”

Jonathan Weinhagen

The proposed site of the Expo in Minnesota would’ve been within the City of Bloomington’s South Loop development district. The land on the site is owned by the Mall of America, the City of Bloomington, and the Bloomington Port Authority.