By Mark Baber
January 14 – Lionel Messi has been announced as the first Global Ambassador for Dubai’s World Expo, taking on a role as a champion for Expo 2020 Dubai.
The announcement, dovetailing with Messi’s winning of the Ballon D’Or for a record fifth time, underlines the importance to the United Arab Emirates of the World Expo which is being held in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region for the first time.
As UAE media reported, Messi is “one of the most widely known footballers in the world. With over 80 million followers on social media, and recognition levels above 85 per cent, by international survey respondents, he is one of the most influential players in modern football.”
At the signing ceremony, Her Excellency Reem Ibrahim Al Hashimi, Director General of Expo 2020 said: “Expos are all about focusing attention on issues of global interest and global concern to help imagine a better future. What better way to do this than by recruiting allies among people who are already working towards better future outcomes?”
“Lionel Messi’s performances on the football pitch bring people together, and as a result his influence reaches far beyond it. He is the ideal person to be our first global ambassador. He overcame youthful health challenges to achieve his dreams of international excellence through hard work; making him an inspiration. He is perfectly placed to reach out to young people around the world, bringing them together to join us as we work towards hosting our World Expo in 2020.”
The Dubai Expo has as its theme ‘Connecting Minds Creating the Future’ and will be recruiting Global Ambassadors from leading figures in the sports, arts, music, culture and media, as well as international thought leaders in the fields of architecture & design, science & technology, business, economics, education, philanthropy and sustainability.
The role of Expo Ambassadors is to “travel the world, talking to stakeholders to explore connections between their work and that of Expo 2020, along with potential opportunities for collaboration and engagement. “
Expos are generally held every five years, with the first (The Great Exhibition) having taken place in London in 1851. The Expo Milano 2015 featured footballers as ambassadors including famous names with Milan-connections such as Gianluigi Buffon, Ricardo Kaka, Anderson Hernanes and Javier Zanetti. However, for the UAE to announce Lionel Messi as Dubai 2020’s first Global Ambassador is a quite remarkable indication of the status and esteem the world’s top players have in the modern world.
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