Expo Zaragoza 2008 was a significant moment for Zaragoza, generating great expectations and changes for the city. Here, great economic possibilities for the future were foreseen. However, the results of this international event, in retrospect after 12 years, show bittersweet conclusions. You can read all about it below. Want to get the most out of your trip? Play a City Game in Zaragoza
Expo Zaragoza 2008
The theme of the 2008 International Exposition was “Water and sustainable development“. A more than appropriate theme for the climatic moment we were (and still are) living. Zaragoza joined the shift in major international events and prepared an Expo with a 25-hectare site. This included stands and pavilions dedicated to climate change, water control, the use of clean and renewable energies, etc.
Results obtained
All this Expo, gave rise to a great effort and illusion on the part of Zaragoza, but once the exhibition ends, it is necessary to collect all the exhibition and take stock of the results obtained and activate the plan B of all the facilities that were built for the event. The results were not very good. If we analyze the most positive aspects, it is true that some of the urban remodelling that has been done has been really beneficial for the citizens.
Many people think that Zaragoza’s only and real objective with all this Expo history was to obtain popular consensus and the necessary national funds to carry out all the actions, urban and otherwise, that it wanted for the city and that there was no other way to achieve it.
In conclusion, in order to assess the success or failure of Expo Zaragoza, we must first establish what its objective really was. If the aim was to obtain large global financing to carry out urban development projects that would otherwise not have been possible and to keep the real estate bubble on the rise, the balance is quite positive.
