Wroclaw's candidacy for World Expo still uncertain
By : Juliet D. Golden
Nearly a year and a half after Wroclaw first announced its plans to host the 2010 World Exposition, organizers of the bid have not yet submitted a formal application to the Bureau of International Exposition (BIE) in Paris announcing the city's candidature.
Last year, organizers announced that Poland would be the first in line to formally submit Wroclaw's candidacy in Paris' BIE at the start of the year. Under the guidelines, candidate host countries can tender applications no earlier than nine years before the event would be held. The passage of a parliamentary declaration last autumn, throwing support to Wroclaw's initiative, opened the way for organizers to apply as of January this year.
"I wanted to act as a pioneer and be first, because then Poland will be No. 1 in all countries," said Wladyslaw Serwatowski, the man in charge of Wroclaw's 2010 Expo effort.
However, a series of economic and political hurdles appear to have forced officials to recast Poland's strategy for Wroclaw as site of the fair in nine years' time.
First organizers failed to secure funds in this year's national budget needed to promote the event worldwide. "The international budget for promotion was $30 million this year," Serwatowski said. "The government said 'no, we don't have that budget for this year.' " The lack of state funding means the promotional budget will be limited to the zl. 2.5 million ($610,000) provided by the Wroclaw city council and private sector donations, Serwatowski said.
Expo 2010 organizers may receive some national funding from money set aside to promote Poland's bid to join the European Union (EU). To counter waning support for the country's EU candidacy among trade-bloc members, the government announced last year that it would fork out zl. 87 million ($21.2 million) over a two-year period to improve Poland's image throughout the EU.
However, for the Wroclaw 2010 Expo bid to benefit from these promotional funds, organizers say that Poland will have to have a green light from the EU as to when it can expect to become a trade-bloc member. All eyes are now turned toward the next EU summit slated for this summer in Sweden for a date to be set. The earlier the date, the better the chances that promotional efforts for Poland's Expo 2010 and EU bids could overlap.
"If there is an early EU date, that could help the Expo (2010) project," Serwatowski said. "If we are talking about 2005-2006, then Expo (2010) will be not be a first-line project."
Economic woes following last year's Hanover World Fair have also dampened enthusiasm here for Wroclaw's bid, according to Serwatowski. While that Expo raised approximately DM 4 billion in value-added tax for the German economy, Expo Hanover, the company charged with organizing the event itself, ran a DM 2.4 billion deficit. These lackluster results mean that organizers will have to rework their own assumptions to get financial backing for the initiative in the future.
"We cannot have the same figures as Hanover," Serwatowski said.
Roughly 16 million visitors attended the Hanover Expo, far shy of the 40 million that ventured to Seville in 1992. Organizers have said that the price tag for Expo 2010 could reach $3 billion, with roughly 60% ($1.8 billion) covered by government and businesses inside Poland. The remainder would be covered by individual governments attending the show and the international private sector.
Wroclaw is not alone in taking a wait-and-see approach before joining the fray. Neither Buenos Aires nor Shanghai, the city's two main competitors, have submitted their papers with the BIE. "As far as I know, no country has officially presented (its candidacy) to Paris," Serwatowski said. "They are waiting to see (what happens)."
