Thailand disqualified for World Expo 2020

[webfact]

FAIR
Thailand disqualified for World Expo 2020
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Ayutthaya, Thailand has been dismissed as a candidate to host the World Expo 2020, reducing the number of contenders to four, according to reports.

Vying for the hosting rights are four cities - Ekaterinburg, Russia; Dubai, the United Arab Emirates; Izmir, Turkey; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) on Tuesday reportedly disqualified Thailand, amid concerns that the bid did not have sufficient support from the government.

It was estimated that Thailand would need to spend Bt30 billion or about US$1 billion, to prepare for the world’s largest fair. Russia is reportedly planning to invest $2.5 billion for this purpose. In the original bid, Thailand expected that the expo would draw more than 30 million visitors.

In February, Prime Minister’s Office Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsong-phaisan said the Yingluck government was assessing the worthiness of investing in a bid to stage the World Expo. There has been no report on the progress ever since.

Arabianbusiness.com drummed up the news, as Dubai's plans for the international event as meeting the criteria for staging the expo, based on inspections by BIE officials. The cities also will present their progress reports to the BIE general assembly in Paris on Wednesday.


-- The Nation 2013-06-12

[gl555]

Good! A thirty billion investment of our hard earned taxes would have translated to a real investment of around 10-20 billion anyway. The rest would have gone to the pockets of certain PTP members and their cronies.

[EyesWideOpen]

Wonder if corruption was a factor in being disqualified.....

[theblether]

The current government didn't want it and that's that. Rather than pull out they let it wither on the vine. Fair enough I say.

[Upnotover]

Good, more to spend on the Phuket F1 race now.

[ratcatcher]

The expo is cancelled and shortly we will hear the end of F1 talk in Thailand.

[chooka]

Ouch that has got to hurt. Not so much a loss of face but more like being hit fairly in the face with the back of a shovel.

[DocN]

Thailand, the hub of (willful) FXXX up's!

[smutcakes]

Ouch that has got to hurt. Not so much a loss of face but more like being hit fairly in the face with the back of a shovel.

Why, it appears they were not bothered about hosting it, so why any loss of face?

[ratcatcher]

Let's hope Dubai gets it. Look what they've given the world.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/connecting-minds-creating-future-504765.html

[chooka]

Ouch that has got to hurt. Not so much a loss of face but more like being hit fairly in the face with the back of a shovel.

Why, it appears they were not bothered about hosting it, so why any loss of face?

They didn't lose a bid they were disqualified. There was thread late last year saying how they were going to host the event.

Edited June 12, 2013 by chooka

[Bellweather]

Ouch that has got to hurt. Not so much a loss of face but more like being hit fairly in the face with the back of a shovel.

Why, it appears they were not bothered about hosting it, so why any loss of face?

Well now they can say " we didn't want it anyway " because it is loss of face being dropped rather than dropping out.

[lungmi]

Let's hope Dubai gets it. Look what they've given the world.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/connecting-minds-creating-future-504765.html

Thailand gets it with Dubai as capital city.

[BangkokGastronaut]

Thailand is not renowned for hosting things - just look at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup? Nothing like hosting a world championship with a stadium that didn't meet safety criteria. Nope, Thailand is best left to look on in awe at how other countries really can get on with organizing things. As for F1 and all its razzmatazz, it'll never even make it to the grid.

[whybother]

Thailand is not renowned for hosting things - just look at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup? Nothing like hosting a world championship with a stadium that didn't meet safety criteria. Nope, Thailand is best left to look on in awe at how other countries really can get on with organizing things. As for F1 and all its razzmatazz, it'll never even make it to the grid.

From what I heard, the Futsal World Cup went well ... even without the main stadium.

[rubl]

2020? Too far away in time. Let's concentrate on the F1 race in 2015 instead :-)

[GentlemanJim]

We see a lot of headlines saying "25 million tourists will come to Thailand next year", can we now expect a headline saying "30 Million Tourists not coming to Thailand in 2020" ?

[bigbamboo]

Wonder if corruption was a factor in being disqualified.....

If it was corruption that ruled out the Thailand bid then they beat off some serious competition in Russia and Brazil ! Edited June 12, 2013 by bigbamboo

[belg]

thailand can make up a new event : host the south east asia fair

hub of everything, star of nothing

[steveromagnino]

they basically invested a few hundred million in feasibility studies and overseas junkets for senior politicians to check whether we could or could not host such an event. Same same nuclear power and every other major investment; you spend just 2% of the total amount the gracefully don't go through with it, and claim to have saved the tax payer 98% of the cost. Everyone wins!

It's basically rewards for the boyz, a chance to pay back political favours. Still fondly recall the flight to Hong Kong 2 weeks after the election in July 2011....half of business class was full of upcountry Thai civil servants and party faithful who were given a nice reward of a free trip courtesy of the taxpayer, can't remember what they were claiming to go and look at, the preponderance of red shirts in the group suggested it was a trip to shop for Fendi bathrobes for their dear leader. Quite enjoyable talking to them; the reward was for drumming up a certain number of votes or followers (amazing how open corruption is after a few inflight drinks) and they was not much regard for the long suffering tax payer in explaining how this was a reward for a job well done.

[chooka]

2020? Too far away in time. Let's concentrate on the F1 race in 2015 instead :-)

18 months away and they still don't even know where they are going to have it never mind all the planning and infrastructure they will have to build. It won't happen same as the expo.

[Nickymaster]

Ouch that has got to hurt. Not so much a loss of face but more like being hit fairly in the face with the back of a shovel.

Why, it appears they were not bothered about hosting it, so why any loss of face?

So why apply to host it?

Anyhow, that's makes it easier for Dubai to be selected.

-Russia already has the soccer thing in 2018

-Brazil soccer 2014 and Olympics 2016

-Turkey a bit unstable at the moment bit still have a small chance

So Dubai it will be (most probably). I am fairly sure they are happy Thailand didn't get it (want it ).

Edited June 12, 2013 by Nickymaster

[Nickymaster]

2020? Too far away in time. Let's concentrate on the F1 race in 2015 instead :-)

18 months away and they still don't even know where they are going to have it never mind all the planning and infrastructure they will have to build. It won't happen same as the expo.

You will be surprised. I you have money to spend, somebody will build it for you.

Hey, this country can absorb a loss of (spend) 10,000,000,000 USD on the rice scam within 2 years. Surely they can adsorb 100,000,000 USD needed to host an F1 race. Only 1 percent!!

[smutcakes]

Ouch that has got to hurt. Not so much a loss of face but more like being hit fairly in the face with the back of a shovel.

Why, it appears they were not bothered about hosting it, so why any loss of face?

So why apply to host it?

Anyhow, that's makes it easier for Dubai to be selected.

-Russia already has the soccer thing in 2018

-Brazil soccer 2014 and Olympics 2016

-Turkey a bit unstable at the moment bit still have a small chance

So Dubai it will be (most probably). I am fairly sure they are happy Thailand didn't get it (want it ).

It was the previous Government on the 24th August 2010 who announced Thailand would run for it and Ayutthaya would be the nominated city. Not sure if that's the reason, but the article implies the current Government never seemed overly bothered about it.

Cant see them or anyone else losing much sleep over this.

[Markaew]

Thailand will continue to fail because they believe they are in the same league as the rest of the countries of the world. They are reaching far beyond what they are capable. Thais don't get it, most other countries understand what they are.

[drdoom6996]

The expo is cancelled and shortly we will hear the end of F1 talk in Thailand.

Boy you got that right.

[winstonc]

the rest of the world know thailand are incapable of REAL investment in anything,,,,,thats a benefit,for anyone but themselves,the ones with the real power,

[MEL1]

2020? Too far away in time. Let's concentrate on the F1 race in 2015 instead :-)

I think PTP should really be concentrating on things like: 'no coup' before 2015?

-mel.

[geriatrickid]

Wonder if corruption was a factor in being disqualified.....

Right, and Russia, and Turkey are world leaders in integrity.

The reality is that it was all about money and how much organizers were willing to lavish on a useless event that delivers no long term benefits to a developing country. Let the Russians or the Gulf States have the event. They can spend their petro money in an a futile attempt to purchase respectability.

[chainarong]

2020? Too far away in time. Let's concentrate on the F1 race in 2015 instead :-)

18 months away and they still don't even know where they are going to have it never mind all the planning and infrastructure they will have to build. It won't happen same as the expo.

One hopes the road surface is suitable, the one in BKK is to rough for F1 Chooka.