Moroccan hopes dashed of hosting 2012 World Expo
2007-11-28
Despite Morocco’s aggressive promotion campaign and "spirited" presentation, the International Exhibitions Bureau picked Yeosu, South Korea over Tangier to host the 2012 World Expo.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 28/11/07
 [Getty Images] Moroccans walk past one of the many posters which supported Tangier's candidacy to host the 2012 World Expo. |
The suspense is over: Tangier will not be hosting the 2012 World Expo. The final decision, which put an end to Morocco's hopes, was announced at 9pm on Monday (November 26th) in Paris. After months of campaigning to win the bid, Morocco lost out to a strong rival – South Korea. When the 140 member states of the International Exhibitions Bureau held a secret ballot at the organisation’s 42nd General Assembly, Yeosu won 77 votes, beating Tangier’s 63. The third bidder, Poland, had been eliminated in the first round after receiving only 13 votes.
The Moroccan delegation said Morocco had sought the World Expo not only for itself but also for the whole of Africa, the Mediterranean region and the Arab and Muslim world. Member Abdellatif Benazzi said the country mounted an exemplary campaign. "Morocco presented a vision of a future where individuals are at the heart of the development process. We believed in our values," he said.
Moroccan Communications Minister Khalid Nasiri expressed his bitter disappointment, saying that Morocco made a very credible effort and did all it could in the face of strong competition. "I feel my country has suffered an injustice. Morocco put in an outstanding bid; all those who watched the three presentations objectively believed Morocco’s was by far the most original and had the most spirit," he said.
Morocco still has every reason to be proud, Nasiri noted. "Plans to develop the northern region and the rest of the country will continue, with or without the Tangier Expo. These plans will support our nation and our principles. Whatever the outcome may have been, Morocco has come away from this with its head held high. Our cities will continue to develop," he declared.
Although Tangier residents seem equally confident that development of their region will continue, they were disappointed to learn their home city will not host the World Expo. Medical student Hakima Hachimi said the city’s inhabitants really believed in Tangier’s chances and never doubted that victory would be theirs.
"Morocco’s bid was a cultural one. It would have been the first African and Arab country to host a World Expo. The theme 'World highways, cultural crossroads: for a more united world' was closely linked to Morocco’s identity as a nation of sharing, tolerance and cohabitation of cultures and civilisations. It’s a real shame," Hachimi lamented.
Teacher Salim Moha was more optimistic: "Sure, the Expo would have boosted the country’s economy further, but the north will continue to develop – as you can see from projects such as the Tanger-Méditerranée port."
Email to a friend
Print version
amine Posted 2007-11-28
i hope they keep working for the development of morocco and we are all with morocco
Adil Posted 2007-11-29
The problem with Morocco is that it has amnesia. Are our people in charge going to one day realise that we could never hope to live up to all their scale-model plans? These types of people only exist in Morocco.
HAMIDI Posted 2007-11-29
My Brother, You have still not understood: there may still be three potential teams to go to the World Cup, but, open your eyes my brothers and sisters! We Arabs and Muslims are disliked in general. They are afraid of us. Even if they asked us to put together a bocci ball team, they would never accept them. Thank you for your magazine. --Goodbye
Toufik Posted 2007-11-29
Our Moroccan brothers deserved to host it this time. Their theme is timely and it is about time World Expos moved to different continents. So far it has been dominated by the US, Europe and to a small extent Asia. But that was through a vote so...
richard chapman Posted 2007-11-29
Its seems such a shame especially as two Expo's will be in Asia in 2010 and 2012 these things should be shared around ???
omoualid Posted 2007-11-29
We deserved to win this for Tanger in 2012. The question I ask myself is: why were the 40 other countries accepted at the last minute? I have also thought the King of Spain’s visit didn’t have anything to do with Tanger’s candidacy for 2012. The Leksar Lekbir affair is not an affair to tarnish the image of my country. But, to get back on topic, I say we deserved to win because the team that put forward this project did the impossible. I am speaking about the people who worked on this anonymously, I am talking about the people were recruited to do their best who did their best after years of studying. I am talking about the people who worked out of sheer will because they know what it means to be unemployed and they knew the a World Expo in Tanger in 2012 would solve this problem. They gave their all and we deserved this expo. But, I must also say that it is not such a big loss because we are still on the same path as before: Tanger will be for tourists with or without this expo. As for you, the team behind the Tanger 2012 World Expo candidature, in the name of all faithful Moroccans, I congratulate you for having done your best. –Thank you, Omoualid
abdul Posted 2007-11-29
was a disapointing that Tangier did not get the chance to host 2012 Exp,i strongly believe that the Moroccan team leading Tangier Exp 2012 was lacking experiences and faild to show the world What a city like Tangier can offer,but lets not be negative and learn from our mistakes in the future.Believing that Tangier is more than capable of hosting such event.
doudi Posted 2007-11-29
Those responsible for the campain did not convince even the Moroccans, so how could they convince others. Shame on these people who squander our money every now and then instead of concentrating on projects that would boost the national economy and create jobs as well as care for the welfare and wellbeing of the youth and the Moroccans in general.
Together-for-Morocco Posted 2007-11-29
I am from Tangier and I was hoping they would win the BIE vote to host the 2012 Expo. But even though it will be hosted by Korea, I think the vote was fair. For example, Korea is much more modern and advanced than Morocco. Korea makes good products like Samsung and Hyundai. Does Morocco have the technology to make those products? No. And also Korea started changing and modernizing many years ago. But in the north of Morocco, the changes are new. It is only now that they are making progress. It should have started 20 years ago, not now. So we can't expect to host the Expo and the World Cup if we have only started to move and modernize a few years ago. It will take time and more progress before we can earn the respect and the approval. But in the end, I am optimistic. It was a close vote. Morocco had 63 votes. So yes, we had a lot of support. Let's continue to work hard and to improve our country, so that after some time we can truly win the votes and the approval. It will take time and work, but it will come.
shiwaz Posted 2007-11-30
Being a French Parisian, I tried to no avail to promote Paris as a candidate for 2012. I also followed Tanger’s project with great interest. I must thank His Majesty, King Mohammed VI, the entirety of the Moroccan people and also the city of Tangier in particular for this magnificent project. You Moroccans should be proud of this project. Even if you were not rewarded with success, you have remarkable potential and receiving 63 votes is a magnificent advancement. Yeosu received the honour after first being defeated- I sincerely wish you success next time and hope at that time I will have the chance to come to Tangier as a visitor! May your more than understandable bitterness pass quickly so that you may get back to work on winning the next time. Please, allow me to assure you of my friendship and respect, even if, my dear Hamidi, I am neither Arab nor Muslim. You deserve so much merit just for bringing this project of yours to this point. Morocco has proven its ability to rise up to world-class challenges. Not a single Moroccan should be embarrassed of this failure: you were willing to take the chance but were simply unlucky. Victory escaped you, but for you there still rests the glory of having faced the competition and dared to challenge more experienced adversaries. You have earned this glory for eternity and advanced your credibility in your future projects. –My friendliest regards to our (almost) neighbours in the South.
بلال Posted 2007-11-30
Salam alaikoum, Tangier should be proud of the candidacy file it has submitted.
rouh Posted 2007-12-01
Certainly, they don't want Morocco to succeed, certainly there are many who envy us.
Karim Posted 2007-12-03
Tangier to me is a magical city, culturally diverse and ready to burst out into the modern stage. It deserved the chance to show the world it can host a world class event, if only to silence the anti arab/muslim world that we are more than willing and able to put on a great show. I was disappointed at first, but let us learn from this and dispite the setback continue to build and modernise our beautiful and tolerant country. Viva Maroc
We welcome your comments on Magharebia's articles.
It is our hope that you will use this forum to interact with other readers across the Maghreb. In order to keep this experience interesting, we ask you to follow the rules outlined in the comments policy. By submitting comments, you are consenting to these rules. While Magharebia.com encourages discussion on all subjects, including sensitive ones, the comments posted are solely the views of those submitting them. Magharebia.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with the ideas, views, or opinions voiced in these comments. This is a moderated forum. Comments deemed abusive, offensive, or those containing profanity may not be published.
Magharebia's Comments Policy