Sao Paulo - The mayor of Sao Paulo said the Brazilian city was ready to host Latin America's first World Expo in 2020, dismissing security concerns following a surge in violence last year.
Sao Paulo mayor Fernando Haddad said the city wanted to host the six-month-long extravaganza on behalf of Latin America, which has never staged the event before.
“We can say it is a Latin American candidacy,” he told foreign correspondents. “The time has come for Latin America to host World Expo.”
Sao Paulo, Brazil's economic capital and most populous city, is competing with the Turkish city of Izmir, Ayutthaya in Thailand, Ekaterinburg in Russia and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to host the coveted event.
The five cities have submitted their bids to the 157 member states of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which will announce the winner in November after a vote.
Haddad dismissed concern about security following a wave of criminal violence last year that claimed more than 300 lives in greater Sao Paulo.
“We have had an important reduction of violence” in recent years, he noted.
Haddad said Sao Paulo could make a strong bid given Brazil's hosting of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio summer Olympics.
With a metropolitan area of more than 20 million people, Sao Paulo, which represents 12 percent of Brazil's GDP, can guarantee the attendance of tens of million of visitors to the sixth-month-long fair.
The event will come with a $3-billion price tag, $9-billion if transport infrastructure projects are included, said Haddad, who stressed that the city will get financial backing from Sao Paulo state and the federal government.
The last World Expo was hosted by the Chinese city of Shanghai in 2010. Milan will stage the next Expo in 2015. - Sapa-AFP