Should Toronto host Expo 2025? Mayor Tory welcomes BIE Secretary General
At Mayor John Tory’s invitation, the Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Dr. Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales, is in Toronto for a three-day tour to showcase Toronto as a potential host city for the 2025 World Expo.
Dr. Loscertales is the well-respected leader of the International Expo movement. Today, he will deliver a keynote address to the Toronto Region Board of Trade profiling the opportunities and prerequisites for a bid country. His speech will build on the content of a preceding expert panel convened to review the Port Lands as a potential Expo site, the Shanghai Expo 2010 hosting experience, Canada’s history with Expos, and what the BIE looks for in a winning bid.
Before returning to Paris, the Secretary General will participate in a moderated discussion about a potential Toronto bid with City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam. This event will be open to the public and they will take questions from the media.
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: Heritage Atrium at the MaRS Discovery District, 101 College St.
Who: Secretary General Loscertales, Municipal and Provincial Government representatives
The Secretary General's visit to Toronto allows for Expo fact-finding from government and key stakeholders. It will include the following activities:
• Meeting with the Mayor's Advisory Committee on International Hosting Opportunities.
• Tour of the Pan Am Athlete's Village, as well as tour of the Toronto Port Lands (as a potential Expo 2025 site).
• Briefings with elected officials from the municipal, provincial and federal governments.
• Engagements with private and corporate citizens interested in seeing Expo 2025 in Toronto.
Media contacts:
To confirm your attendance at the press conference, please contact: Nadine Tkatchevskaia, 647-825-8650;
tkatchevskaian@gmail.com
For further comments, please contact:
Claire Hopkinson, Toronto Arts Council:
claire@torontoartscouncil.org 416-392-6802 ext. 226 (c/o Natalie Kaiser)
Background:
World Expos are large-scale public exhibitions focused around a central theme that allow countries to come together in the same physical space and share ideas. Expos happen every five years in varying host cities around the world. The 2015 Expo took place in Milan, Italy and featured “Feeding the planet, energy for life” as its main theme. The World Expo Fair unites people, instills pride and is a major catalyst for job creation and economic growth.
Canadian cities are widely recognized for hosting some of the most successful World Expos in modern times, namely Montreal `67 and Vancouver `86 which permanently transformed their waterfront urbanized areas.
Toronto is the largest city in Canada and has never hosted an Expo. Toronto Port Lands remains a strategic priority for the city`s ongoing waterfront revitalization efforts.
Toronto’s potential bid is being explored and organized by the Expo 2025 Steering Committee, a diverse group from the Greater Toronto business, corporate, tourism, investment, transportation, social and cultural communities. Since 2012 the Steering Committee has been identifying all issues, including the timing, site, costs, finances, jobs, revenue projections, economic impact, infrastructure needs, logistics, transportation, community benefits, and a post-Expo legacy all carried out in a cautious, fiscally prudent manner. The tour and visit for the BIE officials is part of the ongoing due diligence work.
Organizations and individuals supporting the BIE visit include: Toronto Region Board of Trade, Toronto Port Lands Company, Waterfront Toronto, City of Toronto Protocol Office, Economic Development & Culture Division, Invest Toronto, Toronto Arts Council, Carpenters Union (Local 27), International Union of Operating Engineers (Local 793), UNITE HERE Local 75, Brick and Allied Craft Union of Canada, IronWorkers Local 721, Operative Plasters' and Cement Masons' International Associations (Local 597), Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, First Gulf, The Greenland Group, Office of the Mayor, Urban Land Institute, Tourism Toronto, Greater Toronto Hotel Association, Marcello Cabezas, The Kilmer Group, Corus Entertainment, The Sorbara Group, Castlepoint Numa Development, Air Canada, MPP Peter Milczyn, MP Julie Dabrusin, David Angelo, Beth Leon, NXTCity, George Brown College, Senator Art Eggleton, Senator Larry Campbell, Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam
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Matt Kofsky 1/26/2016 |
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