A delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) landed in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh on Sunday as part of the project examination phase for World Expo 2030.

BIE’s Enquiry Mission will run an evaluation process starting Monday through March 10.

Heading the delegation is Patrick Specht, Chairperson of the Enquiry Mission and President of the BIE Administration and Budget Committee, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Specht is accompanied by Secretary General of BIE Dimitri Kerkentzes along with other members.

Starting with Saudi Arabia, the mission will visit the three other candidates competing to organize the Expo including Ukraine, Republic of Korea and Italy, according to BIE’s website.

Each of the four candidate countries must go through the examination phase in order to be considered for election.

The mission will “assess the feasibility and viability of each Expo project as laid out in the candidature dossiers previously submitted to the BIE,” according to BIE’s website.

“This assessment… includes detailed presentations of the candidature project and exchanges with officials and key stakeholders involved in the candidature,” it added.

Saudi Arabia officially submitted its comprehensive application file in a bid to host the World Expo 2030 in Riyadh in September 2022.

The Kingdom aims to host the World Expo in Riyadh from October 1, 2030 till March 31, 2031 under the theme “The Era of Change: Together for a Foresighted Tomorrow.”

The Enquiry Mission will use the candidature dossier as a guide during its assessment where each mission “will look into the motivations behind the Expo candidature, 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.”

The findings of the Enquiry Mission will then be discussed by the BIE’s Executive Committee in May 2023, which will decide to retain the candidatures it considers to be feasible and viable.

The host country of World Expo 2030 will then be elected by BIE Member States, through a secret ballot, on the principle of one country, one vote during the BIE General Assembly in November 2023.

Upon the delegation’s arrival in Riyadh, SPA reported that CEO of Royal Commission for Riyadh City Fahd al-Rasheed welcomed the mission, saying that the “visit will provide a first-hand opportunity for the delegates to witness the support of our leadership, the commitment of our government, and the excitement of the people of Riyadh and Saudi Arabia, to host a World Expo in our capital city in 2030.”