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Expo
Corner
What
ever
happened to Gold Coast World Expo 2002?
(Excerpts
from
Queensland Department of Premier & Cabinet Annual
Report 1997-1998)
pp.6-7,
31
"During
the
year the Department provided administrative support to
the Gold Coast Expo 2002 Bid Team led, for
the
Government, by Sir Llew Edwards AC, former Deputy
Premier and Treasurer of Queensland and Chairman
of
the very successful Expo 88 in Brisbane. It was very
disappointing, that notwithstanding the intense
lobbying
of most of the 83 member countries of the Bureau of
International Expositions by Sir Llew, former
Governor-General
the Honourable Bill Hayden AC and others, Australia
lost to the Philippines by a narrow
margin
on the second vote after the first vote was tied.
Should a similar competitive bid be considered in the
future, then special administrative arrangements might be
considered to overcome inflexibilities perceived by
the Bid Team, with respect to existing State Government
tendering and accounting requirements, in view of very
short deadlines it commonly faces and a need
to make quick decisions in the field as part of the
unpredictable negotiating and lobbying environment."
"Of the total expenditure for the 1997-98 financial
year, approximately $2.633 million was spent on the Expo
2002
bid. The Australian Government at the request of the
Queensland Government, lodged a bid with the Bureau
of International Expositions for the right to host a
recognised exposition at Coomera on the Gold Coast
in 2002.
Gold Coast Expo 2002 Bid
The Gold Coast Expo 2002 Committee, chaired by
former Deputy Premier and Expo ‘88 chairman Sir Llew Edwards
AC,
was responsible for preparing and promoting Australia’s
bid for the right to stage a recognised exposition
at
Coomera on the Gold Coast firstly in 2005 and
subsequently in 2002.
In preparing Australia’s bid, a number of potential
sites in the Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor were comprehensively
evaluated
by the Bid Committee prior to the Coomera site being
identified as the most suitable
for
the staging of an international event of this type.
Following identification of the Coomera site, a formal
bid proposal was developed in accordance with the rules
and regulations of the Bureau of International
Expositions (BIE). Australia’s formal bid
was evaluated by a BIE team which visited Australia in
February 1998 and was found to be viable and feasible
in accordance with the BIE rules and regulations.
As part of the bidding process and to gain support for
Australia’s bid, most of the 83 member countries of the BIE
were
visited and lobbied at both the bureaucratic and
political levels by members of the Expo committee and
former
Governor-General the Hon. Bill Hayden AC who was engaged
specifically for this purpose. Presentations
were
also made on four occasions to half yearly general
assemblies of the BIE in Paris.
At the BIE assembly on 5 June 1998, the Philippines was
successful in winning Expo 2002 by a narrow margin
over
Australia. The decision went to a second vote after the
first vote was tied.
The Office of the Co-ordinator General gave
administrative support to the Expo committee. The office
comprised a small, multi-skilled team of officers who
could respond quickly to development issues as
they arose, advising the Co-ordinator General and
Premier on major proposals and requests for government
assistance, and managing and co-ordinating the State’s
continuing interaction with major developers."
POST-SCRIPT
Whilst the Exposition bid for 2002 was won by the
Philippines, the Philippine Government later withdrew
it's application,
citing
internal financial concerns.
Expo 2002 never happened!
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