Expo 2020

Dubai plates witnessed city evolution and it is part of city prestige and remarkable achievements.

Starting like Dubai number started with the symbol of having Burj Al Arab has Dubai commercial logo, then Expo 2020 logo on the number plate.

This number plate as an asset is very important within the city.

It's become part of its prestige.

The Arab came symbol on that number.

Dubai commercial logo.

Then we have Expo 2020.

The numbers are associated with Dubai as a, it's a piece of Dubai legacy.

I can think of a logo already.

But these kind of food rescue initiatives since Expo 2020, as it happens.

Could you give us some examples to kind of bring it to life about how surplus food has reached people who could eat it, use it, and what had to go on behind the scenes to make that a reality?

Sure.

We started at Expo 2020.

We work with the food bank and we were kind of connecting all the surplus coming from the Rove Hotel, from the caterer companies at the event to workers at the site

that are

The first thing that struck me was how easy it was.

The Expo 2020 metro station sits right next to the halls at Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City, which is the new home for CABSAT.

The show has also moved from early summer to October, and this was the 33rd edition, with more than 450 exhibitors from over 120 countries.

I left with a full notebook and a fuller pipeline, and today I want to go through what Dubai actually taught me, because it was not all what I expected.

It, it was absolutely the best thing that we did to really understand our customers.

So we, Expo 2020 was, like, this huge, uh, kind of global event that was happening in Dubai.

It got delayed with COVID, but we were lucky enough to be at the UK Pavilion, um, in Dubai, which was this amazing, amazing building.

And so that was 2022, I think it was.

Then after Burj Al Arab we have, uh, Expo tw- uh, the Dubai commercial logo.

Then we have Expo 2020.

For Dubai, uh, number plates is being developed while Dubai is developing, and it's being reflected on their number plates.

So-

I mean, that is a lot, isn't it? What's the difference now to fill up your tank, and will you be changing your habits to try and save money on fuel? We're gonna teach you how to save, uh, on fuel, speaking to Rob Mortimer from Fuel Reform a little bit later.

Meanwhile, yes, five years ago today, Expo 2020 opened its doors.

Now, we know that most Expo sites fall quiet once the crowds leave, but this one hasn't.

Uh, Dubai South was mostly desert and ambition at that time.

I know it now.

This is the moment, we have to decide.

Yep, Expo 2020, a six-month world fair that brought together 192 countries under the theme Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.

Drawing more than 24 million visits to a purpose-built site in what was then a desert on the edge of Dubai.

So Tirazo is our platform to manage surplus for businesses and find the best value channel for it.

Since we started at Expo in Expo 2020, we've been doing different ways of rescuing food.

Tirazo is our latest platform.

It's a rescue kitchen where we manage surplus and find the best value channel.

And so as Expo City, we're built as a sustainable city for living and we pride ourselves on that.

So food is a part of everyday life and naturally it's something that we would take a strong interest in.

Our interest in food loss waste initiative started during event time during Expo 2020 when we had our food rescue program and that was teamed up with the UAE Food Bank.

Again, similar to what we do with Terrazzo, rescuing of surplus food and redistributing it to those that really need it.

We're a living, breathing, practical example.

Staying with Expo for the moment, and obviously, as an MRT, you'll be very familiar with the triumph of Expo 2020.

And the legacy of that is that we are sitting right at the heart of what is the fastest growing area in Dubai.

What does the evolution of what was just desert landscape probably six, seven years ago or seven or eight years ago to what Expo City stands for today, how does that sort of reflect His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's vision and ambition for Dubai?

I think that's a great question.

I think it was very possible and it was probably the easier thing to do was to treat Expo City or the Expo 2020 as just one spectacular global event with a beginning and an end.

But in true Dubai fashion, and very true to His Highness's vision.

Once the event was over, we thought, okay, what's next? So it's very sort of quintessential to the Dubai way is to look at an asset and think, what could this be next? Or what is the next iteration of this thing that we built together? So Expo was a fantastic, fantastic event on a global scale.