The UAE government has proposed a new start date for Expo 2020 Dubai, the governing body of the world fair said.
The event would begin on October 1, 2021 and run until 31 March, 2022.
Bureau International des Expositions made the announcement on Saturday. Expo 2020 was due to begin on October 20.
It followed the decision by Dubai's authorities last week to look at postponing the six-month event to allow the global tourism and business markets to recover from the impact of coronavirus.
Paris-based BIE has convened a meeting of its executive committee for 21 April to discuss the proposed change of dates. The change can go ahead if two-thirds of the committee, comprised of 12 elected member states, vote in favour.
The formal request was made in a letter addressed to Dimitri Kerkentzes, secretary general of the BIE, from Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
BIE said the expo steering committee "reviewed with grave concern the major impact of the spread of Covid-19 on global public, social and economic health".
It also said the UAE has proposed that Expo 2020 be kept should the change in dates go ahead.
Governments across the globe are working to halt the spread of Covid-19, of which there were more than one million confirmed cases as of this weekend. In the UAE, the number of cases has doubled in the past five days to 1,264 as of Saturday.
Speaking last week, Reem Al Hashimy, director general of Expo 2020 Dubai and Minister of State for International Co-operation, said
“As we worked towards October 2020, something terrible happened to our world,” she said.
“And so our journey must take a different turn. We must adjust our opening dates for Expo 2020 Dubai and spend the time now with our friends across the globe, banding together, working together to emerge stronger than ever before.
“When we come together as one, humanity has no limits.”
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
SPECS
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
