Busan explains expo financial plan, holds fireworks festival

A BIE delegation wrapped up its on-site inspection in Busan Thursday, after hearing a final presentation emphasizing the city's financial wherewithal to hold a world expo and with a grand-finale, fireworks festival.

A Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) mission takes a look at the Wall of Remembrance, which lists 40,896 names of the United Nations forces who died in the Korean War, during a tour at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea on Thursday. [YONHAP]

BUSAN — A Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) delegation wrapped up its on-site inspection in Busan Thursday after hearing a final presentation emphasizing the city's financial wherewithal to hold a world expo and with a grand-finale fireworks festival.

Korea delivered its fourth and final presentation Thursday, mainly discussing strategies to promote the expo and its financing for the event.

Under the theme of "People and Money," Choi Sang-dae, second vice minister of economy and finance, and Lee Kyung-ho, head of the secretariat for the Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan, spoke about the estimated costs for the event and the country’s financial strengths.

Korea delivers its fourth and last presentation to the BIE delegation Thursday at Signiel Busan hotel. [YONHAP]

Matthew Harrington, Edelman's global president, explained about the city’s promotional logo and his marketing strategies to promote the expo if Busan wins the bid. Edelman was hired by The Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan.

The BIE inspection team then toured the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea, the world’s only United Nations cemetery.

The cemetery was established in 1955, and 2,311 soldiers and noncombatants from 11 countries are interred there, including 885 from Britain, 378 from Canada and 281 from Australia.

A BIE mission high-fives a Busan citizen during a tour of a United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea, the world’s only United Nations cemetery to honor UN military causalities in the Korean War, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Led by Asia Lee Campbell, Youth Ambassador of the UN Memorial Cemetery, the delegation toured the 14.7 hectares (36.3 acres) park, including the main grave area and the Wall of Remembrance.

Born in 2007 in Busan to a Canadian father and a Korean mother, Campbell is known as the “granddaughter of Korean War veterans” for her relations with veterans worldwide.

“So many soldiers were sacrificed in the Korean War, and it was for freedom and peace,” Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon told the delegation. “Korea and Koreans will never forget that.”

“I believe the World Expo will be a key stage where we can open a new gate for peace, and I’m also confident the soldiers here will contribute to bringing up freedom in the Korean Peninsula, the only divided nation in the world.”

To wrap up the tour, around 40 children from Angel Peace Choir sang “Amazing Grace” and “We Are the World” for the delegation.

Members of Angel Peace Choir see a BIE delegation off after its tour of the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The delegation attended a lunch with 17 young Busan residents, including foreign nationals, to hear their voices about Busan as a candidate for the World Expo 2030.

The BIE team’s last event in its six-day stay in Korea was a fireworks festival on Gwangalli Beach.

More than 80,000 rounds were fired from 13 barges to show the festive mood of the city as well as encourage Busan citizens who showed full support to the delegation.

A total of 6,100 workers were mobilized for safety.

The BIE mission is to leave Korea Friday morning.

It will complete a report on Busan's proposal in May and share the result with the 171 BIE member countries during a general assembly in June. The final decision will be made in November by a secret ballot.

The BIE delegation visited Saudi Arabia's Riyadh in March before arriving in Busan. Rome is the last city the team will visit, 10 days after leaving Busan.

Korea has hosted smaller "recognized expos" twice — Daejeon Expo in 1993 and Yeosu Expo in 2012.

If Busan wins the bid to host the World Expo, it will be the seventh country that has hosted the "big three" global events: Olympic Games, World Cup and World Expo.

A BIE delegation poses for a photo with Busan Metropolitan Government officials after Korea's fourth and final presentation at Signiel Busan hotel on Thursday. [NEWS1]

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]