To coincide with the first anniversary of World Energy Day on Tuesday, as well as the Expo 2020 Theme Symposium, which 250 international delegates are attending in the final appraisal of the city’s bid, a State of the Energy Report Dubai 2014 was released on Monday — with a major focus on the sustainable prospects for Expo 2020, should Dubai reign supreme.

Email your support Allan Jacob With Dubai ramping up its efforts to host Expo 2020, the best way to spread the word could be through good old email. Social media may be riding the online wave, but there are still innovators and creative thinkers out there like V. George and his team who believe Dubai Expo fans have a better way to show their support for their favourite city through Expomail 2020.com. So someone who receives a mail from ‘xx@expomail2020 ‘is connecting with Dubai in tune with its theme for the Expo: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. Email is a powerful medium which would create a worldwide Expo phenomenon, says the creator of the service. “Supporters of Dubai now go on social media in support of the bid, but with email, a connection happens,” says George. Expo2020mail.com is a mail-only website and has received 6,800 registrations since its soft launch 10 days ago. “We see good enthusiasm from the supporters of Dubai’s bid. Interestingly, more than 90pc of those who have registered are from the UAE,’’ he says. The mail service hopes to atrract 300,000 registrations after its official launch on January 18. It is giving access to 15,000 people till November 27, and another 10,000 till January 1. George and his team at Intensity Corporation, the company behind the mail service, are now busy gearing up for the official launch of the service early next year and feel that the city with its connectivity, infrastructure, progressive leadership, and ability to attract people from different cultures, is the ideal place to host the event. ‘‘There is a strong chance that people from every country will receive an email from the @expo2020mail.com domain in the next six years. Many of them could turn up for the event in Dubai in 2020!’’ allan@khaleejtimes.com

World Energy Day was first proposed and proclaimed in Dubai last year by the World Energy Forum, and first endorsed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Dubai Expo 2020 Higher Bid Committee managing director Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemi was heavily quoted in the report, saying sustainability was the centrepiece of the UAE vision and policy and “also naturally” the core of Dubai Expo 2020 — which would generate enough of its own energy on site to provide half its needs.

“In the lead up to 2020, Dubai Expo is striving to set new benchmarks for the sustainability of mega events through a range of innovative initiatives aimed at delivering a fully carbon neutral programme. Every aspect of the event’s delivery will seek to establish new benchmarks in our commitment to environmental consciousness,” she said.

The delegates from 167 countries, who will make up the voting power of the Bureau International des Expositions when it casts ballots on November 27, have been hearing primarily about the Dubai bid’s sub-themes: mobility, sustainability and opportunity.

The Expo 2020 final booklet notes the sustainability theme is about lasting sources of energy and water, while the mobility theme relates to “smart systems” for logistics and transportation, and opportunity is about generating new paths to economic development.

The energy report includes quotes from Shaikh Mohammed citing the UAE’s recent sixth place ranking for its overall quality of infrastructure in the annual World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.

“Our goal in the coming years is to lead the global index of the quality of infrastructure.”

Shaikh Mohammed’s comments are supported by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy chairman Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum — who is also the Dubai Expo 2020 Higher Committee chairman.

Shaikh Ahmed, who referenced the connection between sustainability and Dubai Expo 2020 numerous times during Monday’s Press conference, said the council was “tirelessly working” to achieve Shaikh Mohammed’s vision of a green economy, working to reduce energy demand by 30 per cent by 2030.

The report concludes with an entire chapter dedicated to so-called mega-events, of which the Expo 2020 is the main focus.

As a foreword to the chapter, Al Hashemi, who is also Minister of State, said mega events left a legacy that was inextricably linked to environmental, economic and social sustainability growth of nations.

“World Expos, Olympic Games and other mega events have proven to be powerful forces shaping the sustainability of cities and countries from infrastructure to economic development, from urban planning to quality of life...in the last decade sustainability has become a key objective of mega events.”

Lessons had been learned from previous expos but Al Hashemi called for a “combined effort” internationally in approaching sustainable development, citing the State of Energy Report chapter as a first step in doing so.

“We still lack an institutional platform through which host nations and international oversight organisations can share and capture relevant experiences and lessons learned,” she said.

Icing on Expo cake Staff Reporter dubai — How are bids to win mega events like Expo 2020 won? Or the Olympics? With happenings of this size, scope and profile making economies blossom, especially in industries like construction, tourism, hospitality and transport industries, over three dozen experts are assembling in Dubai on December 4 and 5 to explain how to successfully organise and execute such major projects in emerging markets. Hands-on organisers like Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Government of Dubai, and Dame Tessa Jowell, former Olympics minister, UK, will examine the benefits and challenges of bidding for such magic programmes and winning them at the Host Cities Summit presented by Emirates airline. “Events now more than ever before are at the forefront of everyone’s mind in Dubai,” the organisers said. “With the 2020 Summer Olympics host city (Tokyo) just announced, coupled with the pending Expo 2020 announcement, the Host Cities Summit has never been more timely.” Endorsed and backed by the DDTCM, Dubai Sports Council and DWTC the summit comes a week after the winning host city of Expo 2020 is announced. It has been assessed that Expo 2020 could create 277,000 new jobs in the UAE and draw nearly 25 million visitors. news@khaleejtimes.com