Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was chosen to host the 2030 World Expo following its bid that focused on shaping a prosperous and sustainable future, beating out Rome and the South Korean port city of Busan for an event expected to draw millions of visitors.

• Members of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions chose Riyadh with a majority of 119 out of 165 votes during a closed-door meeting in the suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux.
• Busan got 29 votes and Rome 17. The result was greeted with cheers by the Saudi delegation.
• Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, welcomed the vote as an “expression of the trust that the international community has in what we have to offer… but also in its alignment with our own vision (for) 2030 and everything that we advocate for, which is a shared pathway to prosperity for all of the countries of the world.”