This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Global City Index 2024.
Chief Sales and
Marcomms Officer,
Expo City Dubai
Background
Expo 2020 Dubai, which ran from 1st October 2021 to 31st March 2022, was the first time a World Expo had been held in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region and the most globally significant event to take place during the pandemic.
While the 24.1 million in-person visits, online buzz and widespread media coverage were immediate affirmations of the event’s success, its long-term reputational benefits became even more evident when Expo 2020 was cited as the biggest factor in the UAE jumping five places in the Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index for 2023.
With legacy always front of mind, the World Expo’s strategic location and carefully considered long-term planning, alongside a compelling purpose and deep-rooted vision for a brighter future, ensured the event was a powerful starting point in a story, and a brand, that continues to evolve from Expo 2020 Dubai to Expo City Dubai.
Ambitious as always, Expo City is transforming into a world-class destination for people to work, live, and play, demonstrated by the launch of a bold master plan in October 2024 that positions Expo City as the new centre of Dubai’s future.
Testament to the long-term vision for the World Expo, this new urban residential and business destination is a focal point of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan and a home for key sectors driving the delivery of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33). With its incredible connectivity to global markets, links to international airports and the port and with the expanding Dubai Exhibition Centre at its doorstep, it offers unrivalled opportunities for businesses, investors and residents from around the world, further accelerating sustainable growth and enhancing Dubai’s reputation as a flourishing global hub.
Indeed, Dubai has ascended even further, climbing four spots in the Brand Finance Global City Index 2024 to become the world’s 5th best city brand, and ranking top for reputation and business and investment. Expo City is proud to be a standard-bearer of that success and is committed to driving long-lasting reputational and economic benefits for the city, while also advancing social and environmental progress.
Challenge
Brand Finance analysed the impact of Expo 2020 Dubai on:
- perceptions of the UAE and Dubai
- brand values of the UAE and Dubai
Approach
Using pre-existing data on the UAE’s Soft Power as a base for the UAE’s performance pre-Expo 2020, Brand Finance conducted bespoke market research in a similar format to the Global Soft Power Index to work out the contribution of the Expo to the UAE and Dubai’s 2023 performance. The uplift was used as a gauge to understand impact on brand strength and subsequently brand value. Brand Finance modelled the revenue uplifts brought about by the Expo through the direct, indirect, and induced impacts. A similar approach was used to estimate the impact that the Expo had on Dubai’s perceptions and city brand value.
Outcome
Brand Finance found that for the Dubai city brand in particular, a brand strength increase of 1.4 points and a brand value increase of $6.6bn in 2023 were driven by the Expo. Using bespoke research, Brand Finance also determined the value contribution of the sub-categories through a drivers analysis that allowed management to decide where to focus resources when developing Expo City.
