[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto council says no to bidding on Expo 2025"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Stars Betsy Powell shares the good news. The Barcelona approach to urban redevelopment works only when you actually have the money to finance said urban transformation.

Toronto city council has voted “not now” to launch a bid to host a world’s fair in 2025.

Council voted 29-10 on Wednesday not to support the development of a bid to host Expo 2025, but 33-5 to remain open to future Expo bids, including Expo 2030.

The city’s executive committee had already voted not to support a bid, which was what staff had recommended.

“Obviously, we knew the outcome walking into city council,” Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who spearheaded the Expo drive at city hall. She said she believed Toronto stood a good chance to host the event, since it has been almost 40 years since North America has hosted an Expo.

Wong-Tam said she hoped for council’s backing believing that hosting Expo would accelerate the revitalization efforts already underway on the city’s Port Lands, the proposed site for the event.