Izmir, on Turkey’s Aegean coast, is bidding to host the 2020 World EXPO, under the banner ‘New routes to a better World and Health for all’. The voting will be held in Paris in November 2013. The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office is currently welcoming individual press trips to Izmir in September and October.

Izmir, a city dating back 8,500 years, is known for its dynamic economy, natural beauty and multiculturalism.  If the bidding is successful, Izmir is expected to attract 35 million visitors during the six month period. With its “Health for All” theme, the city aims to provide a platform for countries to get together to discuss and generate solutions for any health problems facing the world.

Izmir has a long history of health and medicine.The Agamemnon Thermal Springs that have been used for centuries and the world’s first psychiatric hospital Asclepion are located in Izmir.  Hippocrates, referred to as “the father of medicine”, and Galen of Pergamum, whose theories dominated European medicine for centuries, lived in this region.A sophisticated region of Turkey, Izmir also offers a plethora of organic food due to the prevalence of organic farming initiatives in the area.

EXPO 2020 would be taking place in Inciralti, at a site designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid; the first woman to win the Pritzer architecture prize and chosen as among the most powerful 100 women of the world by Time Magazine in 2010.

As Izmir aims to be the first city to host an EXPO centred on human, animal and environmental welfare; it is deemed vital that the construction of the EXPO site as well as its operations and organisation is done in an environmentally friendly way. The different areas in the EXPO site include a town park, a beach, fruit gardens, sports facilities and a playground. The site would be transformed into one of the biggest central parks of Europe and host modern health care facilities after the EXPO.

Progress and success shown by Turkey in the field of health within the last 10 years would be showcased at Izmir EXPO, making it the ideal city to host this Expo. Themed pavilions would be constructed for the introduction of health-related topics and national pavilions in place to display best practices and success stories of different systems. Forums and seminars would be held and cooperation networks will be organised in a variety of themes that include renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, environmental health and animal welfare.

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK is currently welcoming individual press trips to Izmir in September and October, offering a fantastic opportunity to discover what makes it such a fantastic location forhealth, thermal tourism, yoga and spiritual breaks - as well as the region’s gourmet attractions including new and developing organic farming initiatives and vineyards.