Italy enters Rome in race to host Expo 2030

Rome: The Italian government is to propose Rome as a candidate to host the 2030 Universal Exposition, or Expo, premier Mario Draghi announced on Tuesday.

“It is without doubt a great opportunity for the development of the city,” Draghi wrote in a letter to the candidates vying to become the next mayor of Rome in elections this weekend.

The news was welcomed by outgoing mayor Virginia Raggi who hailed the Expo as “one of the most important international events, an event capable of attracting investments, proposing major innovation projects to the world and relaunching employment and the economy in all of Italy.”

“Today a challenging and exciting journey begins officially” – Raggi wrote on Facebook – “we have to beat the candidacies of Moscow and Busan.”

Russia was the first to submit a bid for Expo 2030, proposing Moscow in April of this year, followed with a bid from South Korea proposing Busan in June.

Italy, which hosted Milan World Expo in 2015, is the third country to submit a bid for Expo 2030.