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| Shanghai's 2010 World Expo bid: a look back |
| CCTV.COM 2002-12-04 14:12:48 |
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Celebrations spread across China on Tuesday night as Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl, was awarded the 2010 World Expo. The landmark vote of the 132nd General Assembly of the Bureau of International Expositions （BIE） makes China the first developing country to ever host the event which debuted 151 years ago. Hosting the "Economic Olympic" brings another huge boost for China's development after winning its bid to host the 2008 Olympics last year.
China has gone through three years of intense campaigning in its bid for Shanghai to host the 2010 World Expo. The bidding campaign began at a 1999 member country meeting of the Bureau of International Exhibitions, or BIE. On that occasion, the Chinese delegation announced for the first time that the government would support Shanghai in its bid to host the event.
Shanghai's bid received warm public support from the outset. Polling data showed that the public approval rating of the 2010 Expo bid stood above 90％ across the nation and at 95％ among Shanghai residents. Throughout the three long years of the bidding, activities in support of the event spread through the city's universities, places of work and residential communities. A host of surrounding cities also joined the campaign.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai Bidding Committee for the 2010 World Expo was set up with State Councilor Wu Yi as director. On May 2nd, 2001, China became the first candidate to formally apply to host the World Expo 2010 by selecting Shanghai as its host city candidate.
After nearly one year of preparations, a more detailed report on Shanghai's bidding reached the BIE, with China once again outstanding among the candidates. This report conveyed the Chinese government's strong backing of the event, from financial guarantees to offers of preferential policies for participating developing countries. The report also designated the theme of Shanghai's Expo －－"Better city, better life"－－ the first of its kind in expo history. Members of the BIE said the theme reflected both an ongoing concern for human development and highlighted the unique features of Shanghai, which developed from an obscure fishing village into an internationally wired metropolis within just two hundred years.
A BIE delegation toured China in March 2002. After their tour, they highly commended Shanghai's Expo－planning efforts. Many delegates expressed hope the city would eventually turn this idea into reality. During that tour they were met by Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji. Both men promised their full backing, saying the Chinese people were fully capable of hosting the most successful, impressive and unforgettable World Expo ever.
The last presentation in the bidding process was in July this year, five months ahead of the crunch December vote. Shanghai again was billed to be in pole position. Then, on December 3rd 2002, the final day of reckoning, Shanghai was given the thumbs－up to host the 2010 World Expo. By the year 2010, Shanghai plans to welcome its guests with a clear, clean and beautiful environment to embody its bidding theme of "Better City, Better Life." Shanghai intends to present the most successful, splendid and unforgettable World Expo in the history of the event.
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Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
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