BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Bloomington lost out on its bid to host the 2027 World's Fair Expo to Belgrade, Serbia.
The Bureau International des Expositions announced the news in a tweet just before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. The Minnesota city placed third behind Belgrade, Serbia and Málaga, Spain.
Serbia's theme for the Expo is "Play for Humanity - Sport and Music for All." Their submission explains that this theme would explore play as a tool to build resilience in a difficult world.
Cities in Argentina and Thailand were the other finalists to host the Expo.
Bloomington's plan had been to host it near the Mall of America in the South Loop District. If Minnesota would have prevailed, officials expected the event to generate 17,000 jobs, $364 million in local state and federal tax revenue, and an economic impact of about $2 billion.
Bloomington's proposed theme was "Healthy People, Healthy Planet." Minnesota USA Expo 2027 CEO John Stanoch said that a delegation of civic and elected leaders spent months courting - and counting - potential votes, and they went into the day optimistic that the bid had a strong chance of winning.
"We were disappointed and somewhat surprised," he said. "We expected that we would move into the final two, with Spain, but that was not the case and that's a great disappointment."
Because the votes were anonymous, leaders aren't sure which of the 150+ countries changed their votes, despite written and/or verbal commitments.
"We were optimistic going into it," said Bloomington mayor Tim Busse. "But it's a secret ballot and no matter what folks tell you, you can't be sure one way or another how they're going to vote."
Busse says his disappointment doesn't just stem from the fact that the plans in the bid will never materialize, it's also that the city spent more than four years waiting to develop a prime area around the Mall of America.
Kent Erdahl: "So where does that leave us? Where does that leave this?"
Mayor Busse: "The best thing about what we did with the Expo was we exposed Bloomington, Minnesota to an international development community. All of this is basically a blank canvas for us. We've got the light rail, we've got the airport, the freeways, there are folks who have come forward and we were holding off, because of the Expo, and those conversations have already started."
One of those conversations revolves around a massive $250 million indoor waterpark proposed by the owners of the Mall of America back in 2019. At the time, the Bloomington City Council committed 7.5 million dollars to help move it forward, before the Expo bid came into play.
Busse: "They are still looking at that possibility to develop it in that way. We've also heard from many other folks with different ideas, a variety of different things in the hospitality industry and beyond, that are all possibilities here in the South Loop."
Erdahl: "Any chance the city is going to redouble its efforts and put another bid forward down the line?"
Busse: "Not that I've heard. I don't know that we would want to wait another four or five or ten years trying to get another Expo, trying to figure out the next steps there."
Erdahl: "Time to break some ground?"
Busse: "We're past time to break ground. There's got to be a better and higher use than a surface parking lot here."
Minneapolis Regional Chamber President & CEO Jonathan Weinhagen acknowledged the disappointment that comes with not winning the bid, but says the effort will have big-picture benefits just the same.
“We were proud to carry the official bid on behalf of the United States and we greatly appreciate the support from the White House, the U.S. Department of State, the Governor’s Office and the Expo’s many corporate and business supporters," said Weinhagen. "Our work together showed that Minnesota is worthy of the global spotlight. We made global connections that will continue to highlight our state as a desirable destination for tourism, business, and investment.”
In 2017, Minnesota also submitted a World's Fair bid on behalf of the country and lost out to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The last time the United States hosted the World's Fair was in 1984 in New Orleans.
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