As part of the bidding process for the organisation of World Expo 2025, an Enquiry Mission from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) arrived today in Baku. The Enquiry Mission will assess the bid submitted by Azerbaijan to organise a World Expo in its capital city between 10 May and 10 November 2025. It is the last of the three Enquiry Missions, the first two having already taken place in Japan and Russia, the two other candidates.

During the three-day visit, the Enquiry Mission will receive detailed presentations of the bid project and exchange with national and local officials, as well as representatives of the business community and members of civil society.

The Enquiry Mission will be welcomed by Elchin Amirbayov, Assistant to the First Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of Expo 2025 Baku Azerbaijan Task Force. During the visit, the delegation will also meet with Government Ministers and with representatives of Milli Majilis, the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan. A tour of the proposed Expo site, located east of the city centre, close to the international airport, will be organised on 18 April.

The task of the Enquiry Mission is to assess and validate the feasibility and viability of the Expo project, a necessary step for the candidature to go further in the selection process. This evaluation will ascertain Azerbaijan’s proposals for World Expo 2025 following the submission of its bid dossier.

The Enquiry Mission will assess the motivations behind the Expo bid, the attractiveness of the proposed Expo theme, the proposed site and its planned re-use after the Expo, levels of local and national support for the project, expected participation, and the financial feasibility plan.

In its bid dossier, Azerbaijan outlines its vision for Expo 2025 and identifies the theme of the proposed Expo in Baku as “Developing Human Capital, Building a Better Future”. This theme aims to explore the way talent and potential can be nurtured and how new technologies can be harnessed for the benefit of everyone. If elected, the Expo would take place east of Baku, near the international airport, between 10 May and 10 November 2025. The bid committee forecasts that the Expo would receive a total of 18 million visits over the six-month period.