Baker Institute expert available to comment on selection of Dubai to host 2020 World Expo

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Jeff Falk
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jfalk@rice.edu

Baker Institute expert available to comment on selection of Dubai to host 2020 World Expo
Krane: Dubai was practically born to host this sort of party

HOUSTON – (Nov. 27, 2013) – Dubai was selected in Paris today to host the 2020 World Expo, becoming the first Middle Eastern city to organize the event in its more than 150-year history. The city makes a “fantastic choice” for several reasons, according to an expert on Persian Gulf economics and politics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

JIM KRANE

“Dubai was practically born to host this sort of party,” said Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “The city has proven that it can handle huge numbers of visitors and treat them well. It has its own airline and two enormous airports. It’s got a vast trove of luxury hotel rooms, many of which overlook its 40 miles of beaches. And it’s got a sleek new metro system that whisks people to the sights.”

Krane said Dubai also has the imagination required to run a world expo, and it craves the world’s attention. “This is a city that in normal times builds excruciatingly tall skyscrapers and reclaims resort islands shaped like palm trees,” he said. “What marvels will it cook up for the World Expo 2020? An island in the shape of its Expo 2020 logo, an eight-pointed star? An underwater theater?”

He said Dubai’s win changes the conversation about the Arab world, “at least for a little while.” He said many people have the impression that the Middle East is a hotbed of oppressive dictatorships. “It’s supposed to be a war zone. You can’t hold a World Expo in a war zone, or in an oppressive dictatorship. That’s why Dubai makes a great choice.”

Krane said there are issues with human rights in Dubai, and especially labor rights. “The thousands of construction laborers who will be required to make the Expo 2020 happen must get better working and living conditions and better pay than those responsible for building today’s city,” he said.

Krane is the author of the 2009 book “City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism” (published in the United Kingdom under the title “Dubai: The Story of the World’s Fastest City”).

To schedule an interview with Krane, contact him directly at jkrane@rice.edu or 718-200-7186.

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Related materials:

Krane biography: http://bakerinstitute.org/experts/jim-krane.

Photo courtesy: Rice University’s Baker Institute

Founded in 1993, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston ranks among the top 20 university-affiliated think tanks globally and top 30 think tanks in the United States. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows and Rice University scholars. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.