| Welcome to the weekend issue of Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Join us on Saturdays for deeper dives from our bureaus across Europe. ROME — Italy's beautiful but dilapidated capital wants to follow in Milan's footsteps. To help reverse its decline, Rome is betting big on its candidacy to host the World Expo in 2030, hoping to replicate the fashion capital's success in 2015 in attracting massive investment and throngs of visitors. Milan continued to reap the benefits long after the international pavilions were dismantled. It's become a magnet for bankers fleeing Brexit and revived decadent industrial districts with ambitious renewal projects. While Milan was flourishing, Rome lost ground — both in business competitiveness and international prestige. Images of trash piles in the streets and long queues for scarce taxis have become almost as familiar as shots of the Colosseum or St Peter's Basilica.  Uncollected rubbish in Rome in June. Photographer: Simona Granati/Corbis/Getty Images Now, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri is trying to turn the city's fortunes around, leveraging a €13-billion influx of Italian and European funds. Hosting the Expo would unlock another €6 billion. Even the choice of the potential site for the international business fair stems from the desire to physically reverse decades of decline: The Tor Vergata area, where a futuristic complex designed by architect Santiago Calatrava known as "Le Vele" is slowly rotting away, after being initially commissioned for the 2009 swimming world championships. That plan was never realized, and now Gualtieri wants to make "Le Vele" the centerpiece of the Expo. New metro and cycling connections — in a city that severely lacks both — would be built to link the peripheral area to the rest of the city, together with the world's largest solar power park.  The Vela di Tor Vergata in Rome. Photographer: Riccardo De Luca/Getty Images Rome's bid — themed "People and Territories: Regeneration, Inclusion and Innovation" — faces formidable obstacles. Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and South Korea's Busan have thrown their hat into the ring. Riyadh, with its near-unlimited resources, is seen as the frontrunner and scored a significant early win securing the support of France's Emmanuel Macron. Rome's mayor is drawing on the personal ties he built as finance minister and EU lawmaker. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva hasn't forgotten Gualtieri's jail visits during his years in prison, and announced his backing while in Rome last week. And despite solid support from Giorgia Meloni's rightwing government, Gualtieri isn't shying away from focusing Rome's bid on women, workers and LGBTQ rights — in clear contrast to what he said would be a "dark and oppressive" Expo in Riyadh. Whether this cuts any ice with the 179 member countries of the Bureau International des Expositions that assign the Expo remains to be seen. The decisive vote will take place in Paris on Nov. 28. — Alessandro Speciale, Rome bureau chief | 
No comments:
Post a Comment