I was recently invited to speak at a conference in South Korea, on city branding – and whether world expos have the potential to support it. In the 14. episode of the Place Brand Leaders podcast – just out – I reflect on this question and share some insights from research by Magdalena Florek and Marta Herezniak on the topic, the pros and cons. Plus a few updates from The Place Brand Observer.
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One quote I particularly like, from the research paper by the two professors:
“Events such as Expos have a considerable potential to raise local pride, but also for cities to reinvent themselves for the local citizens. From the moment cities apply to become the host of an Expo, even before they are officially nominated as candidate city, and later when they move from candidacy to the final results – this tends to be one of the most energetic times, where many processes related to urban development are accelerated and accompanied by unprecedented levels of mobilization on the part of the city stakeholders. It is one of these moments where cities define their vision and strategic direction.”
Would love your thoughts – perhaps your city has been the host of an expo or large-scale event? Did it make you feel good, proud – or rather annoyed?
Did you know our speaker profiles cover most topics linked to places and brands, and anything to do with it. Browse our speaker profiles here and if interested in having any of them (including myself) support your conference or event, let me know!
